Oh boy... Oil change mishap, need advice
 

Well I did something that I still can't believe while I was getting the Z ready for hibernation and now I need some advice.

While I was filling the oil after draining it and putting the new filter back on, I grabbed the next bottle, unscrewed the cap and started pouring it in.. only to have the round paper topper that must still have been still on the bottle fall into the filler hole... and now its gone.. :eekdance:

What to do? Thanks for any/all suggestions!

im curious.... but most oil container have a hard to remove plastic/paper cover, almost like an orange juice container. once you rip that off there isnt anything left... was there something extra in the cap? and are you 100% sure its in the engine now?

Get it out. Probably need to pull the valve cover.

Yes the bottle had that, I had already opened it to fill the filter a bit, then put the cap back on while I installed the filter, that's why when I opened it again I just started pouring. The paper topper must have been in the lid, then stuck to the mouth of the bottle when I took the cap back off. I'm 100% sure it went it, it was like slow motion when it happened.

If it was a paper type topper I wouldn't worry about it, it break down over time. If it was a metal type then I would be a little more worried about it.

I dont know but that sucks!

It is 100% paper, it's the top part inside the redline oil bottles

Drop a lit match in there and kill it with fire? :ugh2:

I would use a flashlight and small mirror to light up the filler area and see if you can see the top of the cap and if you can see it you can try to use a small piece of a metal coat hanger or something similar to move the piece over where you can reach it with needle nose pliers.

If not the only way to remove it is to remove the valve cover like it has been mentioned before.

I wouldn't worry that much about it though.

I personally wouldn't worry about it. It'll get destroyed against moving metal and little bits and pieces will get collected by the filter eventually. If you're really anal I agree with removing the valve cover, hopefully it hasn't gone too far for you to track it down in there though.

Thanks for the replies guys. I am very picky about this kinda stuff, however I don't know that I have the confidence in my DIY skills to take the valve cover off. At this point, I will try to flush it out with oil, failing that I guess I'll have to run it, then maybe do the next change early after 100km or something to hopefully remove the particles of the paper.

My main concern is it blocking some sort of oil inlet for the engine or getting in to where the pistons are, I really have no idea about the path of oil in the engine and from the filler hole though TBH.

Update:
I can't bring myself to just run it, and after aome more recommendations, I'm gonna try to find it by taking off the valve cover. Is there anywhere I can find a walk through on this, or at least some general instructions?

did you at least shine a flash light into the fill hole to see if you can see it ?

Oh man that sucks.. good luck with it!

Been there done that. I just with the "Truck" never had an issue.

Sucks Ed...I feel for ya....

I'm thinking maybe some kind of vacuum to suck it out. Maybe improvise a pump or something.

stick a vacuum in it?

Tried a vacuum, just a small house one. Maybe a huge shop vac? The paper is kinda stuck to the side of something with oil I'd imagine so it might be hard to suck out.

Don't worry about it .. It will break down and not affect one thing ..

Yeah, I would try a shop vac. Can you see it? Maybe reach in with a surgical clamp you can find in a drug store.

Yeah, if it's paper, don't worry about it.

One thing I forgot to mention and hasn't been said in this thread is the oil filter. The filter will remove the paper bits that have been shredded by moving parts and even the oil pump, if it makes it past the oil pick-up screen.

My best guess is that it will be dissolved by oil/heat or pulverized by the valve train or oil pump.

I still prefer the idea of flushing the engine with cheap oil until it shows up in the drain. Removing the oil pan is another good idea to insure it's out and not stuck in the drain. Plus it makes a great excuse for a new oil pan or spacer. Much better and easier than removing the valve cover. Plus the new and expensive oil can be recovered and reused. The cheap flushing oil can be used over and over until the pesky foreign object appears.

Zat

Dude, that sucks... good luck bro. If you're gonna take off the valve cover, have a mechanic with you, to help out.

Just drive the car hard at 7K RPM, it should get chopped up into 100000000 bits

Dang, next time don't open the bottle top near the vehicle.

Yikes

Thanks again for the replies. I'm away for six weeks so ill have to tackle this around Christmas. Was thinking about a flexible camera with light and pickup tool integrated like they use in surgery (but those have lasers for micro cuts). Probably hard to find, but would be great for this lol.

Go to the tool crib and sign out the inspection camera. Should do the trick!

Don't be afraid to get a little greasy.
 

Don't be afraid the pull the valve cover, it's just that, a cover for the valves. It should come off by removing the bolts that hold it down, then use a little force to loosen it from the gasket. Then get the paper out and replace it with a new gasket for the cover. It shouldn't be much harder than that. I don't really like the idea of flushing it needlessly through the entire system if it's just on top of the valves right now. Good luck.

P.S. I bet there is a you tube video of pulling the valve cover.

http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/27...oscopy-SPL.jpg

Suction......Torque wrench....whoa! We've got a leaker! CLAMPS!

Yeah I wouldn't take the "let it burn/shred" route either. Too many possibilities for something to go wrong if it clogs up an oil passage somewhere. Then again most of these that I've seen are plastic-coated paper, too, so maybe I'm not correctly picturing just how flimsy and fragile it is.

Pulling the valve cover is pretty trivial once you get past the basic stuff you have to do first for access (e.g. removing the air intake on one side at least, maybe the upper intake manifold as well for access to the bolts, not sure).

Just to scare the crap out of you. Back in the day. I had a slant 6 that lost an oil pump because of a piece of valve seal. When I replaced the old pump with the new pump. I tore apart the old pump. I found the piece had wedged between the rotors. Locking up the pump. The piece wasn't very big either. :eek: