Forgot Oil cap - Should I sample?

[meborder]

Last week I changed the oil in my expedition. This week while I was changing the battery (because my dumb arse left the headlights on), I noticed my oil cap was missing.

I found it and put it back on, but my question is I've been driving 10+ miles of gravel roads every day for the last week with the oil cap off.

certainly not ideal ...

So my choices are:
1 - do nothing, and change as normal
2 - sample and see what it says
3 - dump it just to be safe.

teeter-tottering between 1 and 2 right now. I'm least excited about #3 because I put in the most expensive oil I've ever used (amsoil XL) and I really don't want to burn the oil or money ...
sampling it would cost me about $7, so I could swallow that.

this may not seem like a big deal, but there are rocks on top of my intake manifold just from driving gravel. that stuff gets kicked up and goes everywhere. So I'm worried that the PCV will have sucked in enough dust to create a problem.

the problem with option #2 is how do I sample it without pulling the drain plug? I'm not sure how I can syphon it through the dipstick hole into a bottle.

What does the group think.

 

[Skid]

I would do #3. Oil/filters are cheap. Engines are not.
Option 2 could instead be just changing the oil filter.

Here's option 4.
a) Drain oil into a clean container, change filter.
b) Put the used oil into a new jug and let it sit. I assume you can let it sit for months.
c) Reuse that oil in your next change w/o agitating it. Don't use the last few ounces. The dirt should have settled by then.

 

[horse123]

Is there an undercover for your engine? If yes, don't worry about it. It's pretty well sealed up from dust.

 

[Tman220]

Before wasting your time how do the threads look where the oil cap is supposed to thread into? Is it even dusty? If dust isn't even sticking to the residual oil where your oil cap is supposed to be then its doubtful much of anything has made it way into the engine.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: Tman220
Before wasting your time how do the threads look where the oil cap is supposed to thread into? Is it even dusty? If dust isn't even sticking to the residual oil where your oil cap is supposed to be then its doubtful much of anything has made it way into the engine.


Great idea! IF it's dusty then options 2 and 3 make sense; otherwise, option 1....because the filter will pick up the dust in short order, if it hasn't already.

 

[901Memphis]

It's probably fine. Any damage from particles are already trapped in the oil filter so just go with option 1

 

[simple_gifts]

Originally Posted By: Tman220
Before wasting your time how do the threads look where the oil cap is supposed to thread into? Is it even dusty? If dust isn't even sticking to the residual oil where your oil cap is supposed to be then its doubtful much of anything has made it way into the engine.


Seems like good advice.

On a side note: BITOG dogma indicates this can't happen to a member. These types of mistakes are only made by quick lube places that employ people that have no pride in their work.

Post 572883 indicates I have done the same thing.

 

[Dyusik]

Add a stick of butter, must be salted. Then run for an hour and half at idle, drive exactly 3 miles and replace the cap. Drive another 3 miles and pour in 1 qt of Lucas HD oil stabilizer, regardless of oil level. At this point your vehicle is safe.

Seriously, just top off and drive your car.

 

[CR94]

Yeah, that probably sucked some dust into the oil, assuming the PCV system is functional. The oil filter should've captured the worst of it.

You should feel lucky that that vehicle apparently doesn't toss out oil at a rapid rate with the cap off. My Mazda did, because the cam driven sprocket was right under the opening. When I forgot once to replace the cap and drove only (luckily) about 3 miles before discovering the error, over half a quart came out and coated everything on that side of the engine compartment. Yuck!

 

[Planb]

Just for an exparamental sake, keep the oil cap off and start the engine. What happens? Does it blow out or does it produce a vaccume?

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Originally Posted By: Tman220
Before wasting your time how do the threads look where the oil cap is supposed to thread into? Is it even dusty? If dust isn't even sticking to the residual oil where your oil cap is supposed to be then its doubtful much of anything has made it way into the engine.


Seems like good advice.

On a side note: BITOG dogma indicates this can't happen to a member. These types of mistakes are only made by quick lube places that employ people that have no pride in their work.

Post 572883 indicates I have done the same thing.



I did it, too, about 2 months ago. My wife's Rav4. She called me to complain it smelled like oil and it was very noisy. She only drove 110 miles with the cap off. It was down half a quart of oil and there was oil all over the engine and bay by the time she got home. Took a half an hour to clean up the oil.

 

[sprite1741]

Unless you live on a dirt road or drove in a dust cloud don't worry about it. Your oil gets filtered, the cap is back on so no worry. I always make the rounds in the engine bay and check all my caps and dipsticks before closing the hood.

 

[meborder]

So I checked under the cap this morning. Visually, there is no dust. Nothing caked in, anyway. However, when you run your finger around the top where the threads go it feels gritty.

That being said, I've never done that before on any car, so I've got no basis for comparison.

I held my hand over the fill hole and there is definitely a slight vacuum. No pressure at all. In the past I have pulled off the intake side of the pcv breather and if you block it off with your finger it sucks tight to your finger and there is a noticeable woosh of air when you pull your finger off. So the pcv works pretty well.

Still not sure what to think.

I do live on a gravel road, which is why I'm concerned. The engine bay does not have a belly pan or any type of splash guard or skid plate. Everything under the hood is terribly dusty. I should post a pic of the rocks living on my engine. If I lived in town I wouldn't even question it.

This is a first for me ... 23 years of performing my own PM, guess it can happen to anyone when you get pressed for time. I did have a breather cap fall off my 79 ford a few years back. Spent all day hauling hay and found it was missing at the end of the day ... But that wasn't my fault

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Onug]

My gut says change the oil and filter. But I just couldn't sleep knowing my oil could be tainted, even with the best filter. Do a UOA to prove us right or wrong. Maybe cut the filter open too. This is how we all learn.

 

[meborder]

Thanks for all the input! Sorry for being MIA.

I think I've decided to take a sample with a tube down the dipstick hole and send it in just to see what comes back. I suspect it is fine, but for $7 I can learn something and share with the world.

for fun, I opened the filler cap on my work truck. same engine, just newer. The work truck lives in a dusty environment as well so I though I'd see what it was like just below the fill cap.

when I rubbed my finger along the rim of the fill tube it also felt slightly gritty. Same as my expedition, no better, no worse. So I don't think the "grit" is from dirt, since the cap has always been in place on that one.

I suspect option #1 is just fine.
but in the interest of "knowing" and learning something, i'll sample it know, I guess.

Strongly considering getting the sample pump from Amsoil. I looked at it and it is a really neat deal, but it's $25. the guy there said it is the only accurate way to sample and doing it from the sump while draining will give inaccurate and inconsistent results, but I'm not sold on that (he is a business man, after all).

i'll report back after get results back.

 

[vronline]

I would change it ASAP... Why would you pay to have it analyzed?

 

[meborder]

Originally Posted By: vronline
I would change it ASAP... Why would you pay to have it analyzed?


As a learning tool, mostly.

And it a bit of a gamble. I'm betting $7 against $60.

But for $7 I can know for sure and have learned something in the process.

 

[meborder]

Tried to sample from the dipstick tube this morning. No dice. The tube I bought fit down the tube but wouldn't go through the hole at the block/pan.

Back to the drawing board.

Luckily the tube I bought is perfect for bleeding brakes, so it isn't a loss.

 

[meborder]

Ok ... so I got some thinner tube and still no dice.

so I resigned myself to going back to the Amsoil store and kindly asking the guy if he would pull a sample with his sample pump if I bought a kit from him.

he was super busy but took the time to help. as it turned out, he does this all the time for people and just charges a couple bucks for the hose that he uses to pull your sample.

had I know that, I wouldn't have even messed around with trying to do it myself! He charged me $2 for the piece of hose he used and I got to use my $7 UOA kit from NAPA. He was even kind enough to empty the first pull into a spare container to use as a backup incase the sample gets lost (I've had it happen twice, so I always try to keep a backup).

live and learn.

so sample take today after 700 miles of use and sent off in the mail with the sample I took of the M1-HM when I changed the oil.

this has truly been a learning experience.

i'll post up the results of the new oil to see if any contaminates show up.

at least I now have plenty of nylon hose I can use to bleed brakes!

 

[Lubener]

Just change it or you will be worrying about it all day. The time taken already, you could have just changed it and moved on.