Went to do my regular 2 week oil check and popped my engine cover off. To my surprise my oil cap was missing. There was no oil spillage and car seems to run fine.

should i be worried? although my oil cap was off, i still had my engine cover on.

The funny thing is that the car seemed to run better with the cap off......go figure.

 

i wouldnt worry to much, the oil isnt going to evaporate out or anything, but dirt/water/anything can fall in there and then get into the motor/oil pump/OMP so I would cap it off somehow till you get a new cap. My friend used tinfoil over it and then wraped duct tape around it to hold it on, he did this for all his fluids (washer, engine oil, trany, power steering) of course 2 weeks later his car went off a cliff and he sat in it for around 3 hrs before the rescue workers got to him, and he died when they pulled him out of the car and his neck moved (his neck was broken and when it moved it cut the nerves) killing him insantly.......connection? i dunno

 

This is another benifit of not having overhead cams. I did this before on my z and the engine bay was full of sprayed oil in 30 min or so.

Car should be fine though you are not being kind on the environment.

KY, that story is creapy, man. I am sorry to hear about that. So sad.

 

Did you change the oil? Toronto had a lot of rain the last two weeks.

 

damn! if that doesn't scare everyone into checking their oil cap is on nice and tight, i don't know what would......

jesus christ.

 

Man, thats so sad.

 

sorry, i didnt mean to pull this thread off topic, i think the tinfoil/tape is a good solution untill you get a new cap........but I would get a new cap ASAP!

like I said, there is little chance of oil getting out, but high chance or stuff (dirt, water, ect) getting in.

 

how the hell did you lose the oil cap??

 

being that the cap and filler neck are plastic, everytime I tighten it, I worry about stiping the treads or cracking the neck/cap. I always treat it like an oil filter, turn it till the seal seats, then 1/4 turn after that. Being that I am always careful to make it just tight enough, I did notice that if its not screwed down all the way, the engine vibrations start to 'back the cap out' and it will slowly unscrew.

So if you put it on and gave it a few turns, but not enough, over a few minutes of running/driving, it could completly unscrew and fall out, making it seem like it 'disappeared' over night.

I check my oil at ever fuel fillup, and give the cap a quick turn gives me peice of mind its still there, lol

 

^yet another reason i *highly* prefer DIY oil changes :D

 

I didn't think this would happen to me but it did today. I've been religiously checking oil level every day when I get home and also when fueling the car. Today, I filled up the gas and went to check oil level and it was missing. I was surprised to find that there were no oil leakage any where.

I do remember yesterday when Zainoing the 8, I warmed up the car, remove the cover, opened the oil cap so that the oil can drain down faster and checked for level. However, I don't remember putting the cap back on. I must have droven 20 miles before noticing it.

I don't deserve my 8!!

Nedor

 

Makes me want to go check my cap right now. Like checking to make sure you turned to oven or iron off.

 

yeah like turning around to make sure you closed the garage door. haha

 

Have you been spying on me????

 

I am worried now. I can't seem to find the cap under the hood anywhere. I took a flash light to see if there were large opening for the cap to fall in. I am hoping the cap would have fallen to the ground. Can it be stuck somewhere else?

I'd probably sleep better when I see the lost cap..

nedor

 

If it falls directly into your Flux Capacitor, you're in deep trouble!

hope you find it soon.

 

holy jebus! everyday?!?! why? it doesn't burn that much oil.

 

I'm sure like with any other goodies I had, I probably get sick and tired of doing it every day.

Nedor

 

I have the oposite problem, I practically have to use a 12" pair of channel lock pliers to get my oil cap off, the d-mn thing welds itself shut

 

mine does the same thing, although just because i said that, next time i check it will be missing

 

Jedi54,

I hope that was a joke like if something happened to Flux Capacitor where I would be taken to differnt time or dimension?

Seriously, is there such thing as a Flux Capacitor in the 8? I am mechanically challanged. I am having hard time sleeping thinking where that cap may be hiding.

nedor

 

Sorry bout that Nedor,

No actual Flux Capacitor in the RX-8. I was just trying to lighten the mood up a bit because I could tell you were pretty stressed about the oil cap. (As I certainly would be as well)

Did you get something on there to cover it up yet?

 

Damn, after I read your post I set my radio to 101.1 and was driving around at 88mph in a lightining storm hoping to go back to 1011. Got a ticket for $70. I will send you the bill

Oh, and Aluminum foil seems to be the temp oil cap of choice. Just dont lose any in there.

 

"of course" ???