I was checking the oil level in my car yesterday, and not really paying attention to what I was doing. The engine bay is rather dirty, and I’m pretty sure I collected a gram or two of fine, sandy grit on the end of the dipstick before I reinserted it. Only afterwards did I think “Oops, perhaps I should have wiped it off again first…”
I assume this is nothing to worry about - that’s what the oil filter is for, right? But I wanted to make sure.
It’s possible it could do some harm, but at this point I doubt there’s anything to be done about it.
It could just sink to the bottom of the oil pan, though if it’s fine enough I wouldn’t expect that.
If it’s mixed with the oil, it would get sucked in at the oil pump pickup screen. If the particles are large enough (which I doubt) they might partially clog the screen. Otherwise, they’d go on into the oil pump. I think the biggest worry is that they might cause wear on the oil pump gears.
If it gets expelled from the oil pump, it would almost certainly be stopped by the oil filter.