ever forget to put the oil cap back on after changing the oil?

Yep that's what happened to me this past saturday. I drove for 24 miles plus before noticing strange noises coming from the engine bay. I popped the hood and inspected while motor was still running. Lo and behold the cap was missing... I thought oh $h!t, hope it didn't drop on the road somewhere... got a flashlight (it was 10 at night) and looked around the engine bay and it was sitting on top of the take-up pully...

I was surprised to find the oil didn't spatter all over the engine... only a small area around the oil cap cutout of the engine cover was spotted with oil. A small blotch on the hood liner above the oil cap was noticable too. I was relieved... checked the oil the next morning and was still full. Found minor scuff marks on the oil cap too.

This also happened when a friend borrowed my toyota pu and he took it to a shop to change the oil... the only thing was the oil spattered all over the engine bay and onto the hood... hood still oily after cleaning... Had to refill with 3 quarts of oil...

Thank you Maxima....

 

You may want to do a complete oil change ASAP...I would be more concerned with crap (dirt, grit, etc.) getting IN the engine than oile getting OUT.