Me being the genius that I am, I left the oil cap off while topping up today and then took it for a drive. I started smelling oil so I stopped and it was everywhere. My whole engine bay was completely soaked. I cleaned the spill up and topped the oil back up but I lost almost a litre over the engine bay. Am I going to do any damage?

Haha all good mate... I've done that twice now. Makes a mighty mess.

Let the engine cool down and soak EVERYTHING in degreaser for a few minutes, then hose it all down and wipe anything remaining.

Avoid soaking the distributor too much in case of leaking seals, and avoid the alternator. All the electrical plugs in the engine bay are waterproof so you should not have any issues here.

Make sure you top your oil up to the correct level as well.

I've done that with a coolant cap before. Just as messy. Lol

Call Green Peace.

Degreaser maybe, but I'd be using a degreaser soaked rag over dousing everything in degreaser straight from the can. Of course, soaking where applicable. Where the oil has pooled soak up as much as possible. Blasting it will just spread it further around the engine bay.

I haven't done "oil cap free road test" yet so I'm only guessing at how I would clean up.

Thanks for the advice Life. Its good to know that I'm not the only person who has ever done this. I topped it up with penrite hpr 10-50 fully synthetic. (The only oil I would ever use. Thankfully I had some to spare.) Skapper I wouldn't try taking it for a drive, it is now not only all over my engine bay but all up my mrs parents driveway. I don't suppose degreaser would get this off too?

I'd cover up the dizzy, leads and any sensors with a good amount of cling wrap & tape. Once that is done, I'd get a bucket and drill a hole in it to fit up a tap hose connector. Fill that bucket with a very concentrated mixture of soap, hook up the hose and get busy in the engine bay. Do you know someone who has a pressure washer?

Degreaser is great but squirts in a thin line and its hard to get everywhere. I'd only use that after I've soaked & washed the engine bay with soapy & fresh water.

Good luck with it - i've had similiar experences with Coolant. Oil can come off but Coolant goes hard and sticks like a mad cat to a rug. I had to brush all parts of the bay in alot of awkward places & positions. Never want to do that again!

Just take the car to the local car wash, they have everything oyu need there to do an engine clean and you will not end up with even more oil running down the driveway.

Alt definately dont get too much water there, rest should be fine, dont bother wasting your time covering every elec connector, is not needed unless your wiring system is in poor condition

get a garden sprayer, get 5L of degreaser from bunnings, make the solution 50/50 water to degreaser. drive to the car was, spray the engine and within a couple minutes pressure wash it off. dont leave strong degreaser on too long as it starts messing with the aluminum. repeat where necesssry.

pressure cleaners are always better because the clean more efficiently, with much less water than a garden hose.

Oh, one more thing - just watch your skin with degreaser. I've used that export stuff once before and my skin reacted to it pretty badly.

Ok so here is the plan. Spray it with degreaser, hose it down with heaps of soapy water, then blast it with the gerni, avoiding the distributor and alternator as much as I can. Same on the driveway. Approved?

Sounds good to me! For extra security - just cover the dizzy, leads & conenctors with cling wrap. I'd try and use the gerni to spray the bay with the soapy water (if possible) water and oil seperate so unless there's soap it won't break down the oil.

Anyway enjoy your new fresh looking engine bay! Speaking of which I need to do to mine (very dusty thanks to some recent bush trips)

If you're bored then feel free to show a before and after pic :P

http://www.stu-offroad.com/engine/oilchange/cap-1.jpg

This is an oil cap.
Take it off.
Add oil.
REPLACE CAP.

It's not rocket science!

. . . . . . . . but reading the dip stick is, apparently.
Got a call from my daughter. Her Commobore stopped suddenly. Oil puddle seeping from under the left front wheel. Checked oil level, it's way too high, like by 15 cm above the mark. Probably blew a seal and flooded the CAS with oil, or some such. Mechanic is bringing his car trailer today. lol

And just in case you don't know . . . . .
http://1.cdn.lib.americanmuscle.com/files/oil-change-instructions-12.jpg

http://www.stu-offroad.com/engine/oilchange/cap-1.jpg

This is an oil cap.
Take it off.
Add oil.
REPLACE CAP.

It's not rocket science!



http://www.philipfortuna.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/CaptainobviousChooseOption1.jpg

Haha, a female friend of mine kept filling her Charade until the oil stopped at the filler cap once.. she actually managed to run the car for a few minutes before her boyfriend ran out and switched the car off :P

haha thanks Mad. I will keep that in mind for next time. I have almost got all of the oil off now, so a before and after pic wouldn't have its desired effect. I will show you my nice clean engine bay though, when I figure out how to upload pics that is.

Haha, a female friend of mine kept filling her Charade until the oil stopped at the filler cap once.. she actually managed to run the car for a few minutes before her boyfriend ran out and switched the car off :P

Reminds me of some of the posts in this very old thread - http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69177 . I still remember those days - around a month after I got my magna. Use vic kids scared off Solara Bingle :(

I guess you've all heard the one about the lady that rang Mitsubishi dealer parts department asking for a new oil dipstick? (They asked her why and if she'd lost the old one, to which she replied "No, the old one doesn't reach down to the oil any more").

Reminds me of some of the posts in this very old thread - http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69177 . I still remember those days - around a month after I got my magna. Use vic kids scared off Solara Bingle :(

Just read that thread. Good for a laugh!