Sorry for the cross-post, I wasn't sure which forum would be the most logical for my question...

Earlier tonight, I picked up a new engine hoist from Pep Boys
It's their 2-ton Torin "Big-Red" engine hoist
Anyways, the package was new/sealed and it looked fine so I bought it ($119 on sale)

When I got home, I unloaded the box from my car and laid the box down on its side on my driveway. I noticed a pile of very small ball bearings (approx 200-300 of them, about the size of a head of a pin) and some brown dirt created a small pile as well. The box had ripped a little bit where one of the heavier pieces of metal had poked through the cardboard.

I carefully opened the box and removed all the components, one by one. Everything appeared intact and I couldn't figure out why they packed all these little ball bearings and dirt in there. .....

I inspected the hydraulic pump - looked fine.
I looked at the ball bearings for the caster wheels, and they were a much larger size than the little ones that spilled out onto my driveway and they were all there.

... any ideas?
Just wondering if any of you with a new hoist have unpacked and seen this before.
I hope everything is ok with my hoist. It's a heavy mother (!) so I'd prefer not to lug it back to where I bought it (30 min drive)

* update - 2 pics I took with my d-camera

 

the casters should be the only things with bearings in them, even then they might not.

 

The tiny "bearings" don't appear to be that smooth. I'll guess they came from the foundry the castings came from. The floor of iron foundries are thick with that stuff where they do the pourings.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybrid2nr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The tiny "bearings" don't appear to be that smooth. I'll guess they came from the foundry the castings came from. The floor of iron foundries are thick with that stuff where they do the pourings.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ahhh, very interesting information. Thank you!!

 

bah! It's fine As long as the pump doesn't fail I'd think it would be cool to use.

 

that stuff looks like a cleaning media that got trapped in the legs????

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by atcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">that stuff looks like a cleaning media that got trapped in the legs????</TD></TR></TABLE>

Definitely another plausible theory. This makes sense as well, because there were a bunch more of these suckers in the main (hollow) frame. I had to keep shaking and maneuvering this piece in different orientations for the ***** to fall out (there were only 3 small holes where they could escape)

Thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by atcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">that stuff looks like a cleaning media that got trapped in the legs????</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly. Steel shot peen material. They put all of the steel components into a blast cabinet for final cleaning before paint. The manufacturers don't always take the time to get it all out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jim Truett &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Exactly. Steel shot peen material. They put all of the steel components into a blast cabinet for final cleaning before paint. The manufacturers don't always take the time to get it all out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Awesome, you guys ROCK!!
H-T to the rescue once again.

Thanks guys.....now I can get going on my swap.

 

it looks like gun powder.