Lots of cars can be driven mess free, and obd code free, with the oil cap off. All those gm engines with their ~8" long fill necks for example.
Its only going to be messy of the fill cap opens directly onto a spinning camshaft or, to a lesser degree, a bouncing rocker arm.
Can this be a forgot to do other things thread? Because I took my truck in for a wheel balance to cure a shake and on the drive home it was far worse rather than better. And when I got home (10 miles) I only had a few lug nuts left because the guy had apparently started them by hand (all 10 or so on two front wheels) and then got sidetracked.
foxtrapper wrote: Lots of cars can be driven mess free, and obd code free, with the oil cap off. All those gm engines with their ~8" long fill necks for example. Its only going to be messy of the fill cap opens directly onto a spinning camshaft or, to a lesser degree, a bouncing rocker arm.
My LB7 (6.6L diesel) has a big long fill neck with no camshaft directly below it, and I can say from experience that forgetting to put the cap on will definitely make a mess on the hood liner. :)
How much better would things have been if the mechanic came in and said, "Look, I lost your oil cap. I can't remember what I did with it. I'll get you a replacement?" I would have giving him some ribbing about it, but I'd be OK with someone coming clean.
I left my own cap off after an oil change on an 04 F150 for about 600 miles until I checked the oil level again. Truck didn't thow a CEL, run weird, or thow oil out. I change my oil because oil change places do dumb things...I like to do my own dumb things.
Kia_Racer wrote: After reinstalling the engine in my old 124 spider, I took it for a spin around the block without the hood. I had oil all over the windshield and myself and the interior. I haven't forgotten to put the fill cap on since.
the 124 has that pesky exhaust came spinning directly beneath the cap with no baffling..
I haven't forgotten to replace the oil cap before, but I have forgotten to fill the engine with oil once during an oil change. I ran it about 2 seconds, that was embarrassing.
Going to an excellent, honest repair shop fixes all these issues.
Lincoln Navigators have one of the higest theft rates for oil caps. Very hot in Asian markets.
I admit I chuckled at this thread. Granted it's frustrating when you have a bad experience somewhere that has taken your money to perform a service, but as you can see from the rest of the responses, all of us have had a brain fart like that at some point. So the idea that "I won't let people touch my car" is amusing. Anyone can have a mistake like this. I'll take the risk of a bad outcome because I honestly think my time is more valuable than the cost. Even if I factor in the screw up factor.
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