I was adding some oil to the engine and accidentally knocked the oil cap into the engine bay. It first fell onto the heat shield, and then fell back further down (I think it was then resting on the exhaust manifold/header). I tried to raise it up using a straightened hanger but it moved out of sight somewhere close to the tranny.

Ahhhhhhh!

I got a new $3 oil cap (right size) from Pep boys and used that to close the engine. I then drove for about 30 mins going over the occasional bump or so, but nothing dislodged and fell out. I have no idea where the oil cap has lodged itself.

It was Sunday today so Honda service was closed. I will take the car to them tommorow morning and have them raise it up and see if they can find it.

Just a question - is it OK to drive the car like this?? Can the cap break loose from wherever it is resting and cause any damage???

 

doubt it'll do any damage...hm..unless it's sitting on your headers, then it'll melt..or it may have even fallen out already without you knowing when you were driving perhaps...but imo i don't think so..could be wrong tho'!!

 

Suggestion: For about $5 or so you can buy something called "extended fingers" at any auto parts store. It something everyone should have around the house/garage to grab stuff when your hand is to big.

 

Same exact thing happened to me it was 7:00 am and I had to wait for the service station to open and put the car on the lift to get at the cap which was resting on the exhaust manifold. You should have seen me doing donuts in the gas station p-lot trying to dislodge the thing but it would not budge. I was really annoyed mostly with myself for dropping it.

 

same thing happened to me as well. I got one that worked for a few days until I could get one from a honda dealership. but, if you want, call or email trevor (TAllen) at http://www.handa-accessories.com and he'll throw you over one.

 

I remember someone had this happen and the dealer had to lower the transmission to retrieve the cap! It came to our attention because of an unrelated serious engine problem. Barry - do you remember this one?

 

I was doing a tune-up on my old GSR and something similar happened. After searching around for while with sticks, mirrors on sticks, and magnets on sticks, I got smarter and sprayed water from my garden hose around the engine. Yep, that $!@& little part washed right out...

 

Should we drilled a 1 mm hole on the outermost side of that oil cap and tie a wire to hold that cap in place?
As that plastic cap is really easy to get throw around when you are concentrating in addind the engine oil.
Had anybody done that before?

 

Thanks for your input guys - took it to the dealer today - they raised the car and found the damn think stuck near the exhaust manifold. Luckily it was in fine shape and so I put it back on.

What a STUPID incident!