Forgot to put oil cap back on

greenmachine88

I changed the oil in my car a couple a days ago and as I was in a hurry forgot to replace the oil cap. I checked it out today and saw the cap sitting on the inset of the bonnet but now there is oil splashed all over the top of the hood and the engine.
Should I be concerned by this? I wiped off some of the oil with a cloth but I'm thinking because the oil duct was open, some sand or grit might have gone in.


I felt the car laboring which is what brought it to my attention so I'm holding out it won't affect anything in the long run.

homer90

Did you just start it, or drive it ?

Mr. Manager

I did this before. Drove a little bit, turned a corner then heard a funny rattle in the engine (oil cap).

Oil was all over the engine and the roof of the bonnet but other than that, no problems.

Drove fine.

Anan1

I wouldn't worry too much. What was the oil level like when you noticed the cap was missing?

Check the oil level. If it hasn't gone below the min mark on the dipstick it should be ok. Might require small top up to replace what splashed out.

Big Nasty

As above, check the oil level again and fill if necessary, replace cap this time and all should be fine. If oil splashed on to the block you will probably have a burning oil smaell for the next few weeks until it burns off.

shogunpower

you drove around for a couple of days with the oil cap of, therefor most if not all of the oil has splashed out imo, the laboring sound you heard from the engine could have been something very sinister i would think, oil starvation comes to mind. you need to check the oil level and top it up, chances are you just induced a bit of premature wear on your engines eternals, you should be ok as long as your engine oil pressure and top up light weren't glowing in your face whilst you drove about, its not uncommon for people to shrug it off.