Most mechanics in the know stay miles away from scotchbrite as it is harder to clean up after it than any labor it saves. Scotchbrite has a very bad reputation in the industry as it seems like such an ideal cleanup method, seems so benign, yet can cause such extreme damage. Hopefully the valley of the engine was covered if you used scotchbrite on the deck surface as if it drifted into the valley or into the pan your engine is toast. You must make positively sure that none of the dust remains anywhere on any parts or got into the oil cavity. If you cleaned up parts with scotchbrite you now have a HUGE cleanup job ahead of you cleaning up after the scotchbrite. Generation III External Engine - LS1 intake manifold on a 5.3 vortec - I tried to search around but could not find an answer. On the 5.3L vortec, the intake manifold is made out of plastic, and the gasket was poorly designed. The gasket is what provides an air-tight seal, preventing any air from escaping as it enters the cylinders. especially a Northstar engine where the block deck surface cleaning funnels the scotchbrite dust down the oil drain back passages. Vortec 5300 Intake Manifold and Gasket Failure An intake manifold is responsible for distributing air into each of the engine’s cylinders. People think it is because of coolant getting into the oil ruining the bearings or something when it was really the scotchbrite the mechanic used to clean up the parts. That is why many engines fail the main and rod bearings after a head job or other work.scotchbrite. There are lots of "new" re-mans ruined by cleaning up the old parts with scotchbrite pads and then installing them. Scotchbrite is the bane of the aftermarket re-man engine industry.
It imbeds in the bearings and eats the crank.and other things. Aluminum oxide is an extremely aggressive abrasive. Scotchbrite dust leaves behind all those 40 micron particles hidden everywhere. Scotchbrite pads are nylon fibers with 40 micron particles of aluminum oxide in them. Scotchbrite seems so benign but it is death to engines. At least not one you want to run again for a long time. NEVER, EVER, EVER USE SCOTCHBRITE ON AN ENGINE. NEVER USE SCOTCHBRITE TO CLEAN UP GASKET SURFACES OF AN ENGINE.