Tiny piece of plastic feel into my oil filler? problem?

[eonibm]

Hi. A tiny (1/4") piece of plastic fell into the oil tank on my 1987 Mercedes 300E when I had to break the oil filler cap to get it off (it was really stuck). It fell further in when I tried to remove it with tweezers and now I can't see it.

Will it damage my car to operate it or is the plastic caught by a filter somewhere? Does anyone know?

[theduisbergkid]

Dunno, I dropped a rawl plug into the engine of my Cavalier many years ago, it vanished, it ran OK afterwards. For peace of mind though, I'd see if you get get it out. Can you flush the oil a few times and see if it comes out ?

Good luck to you, and welcome to Tyresmoke

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

Welcome to TSN+++

If you're happy to do it I would have the rocker cover off for a better inspection. Obviously, try not to run the engine if you can help it.

The rubber / plastic seal on my sisters Peugeot dipstick has broken down over time and crumbled, It can only have gone into the oil in little pieces gradually. No apparent issues.

[eonibm]

A friend of mine came to take a look and said that a piece that small would likely not have an effect and would likely get caught by the oil filter. I'll call my mechanic Monday morning to see what he says.

Thanks for the replies so far.

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

I'm not sure something that big would even get down to the sump / bottom end.

[cruiser647]

Dunno, I dropped a rawl plug into the engine of my Cavalier many years ago, it vanished, it ran OK afterwards. For peace of mind though, I'd see if you get get it out. Can you flush the oil a few times and see if it comes out ?

Good luck to you, and welcome to Tyresmoke

Begs the question of why you were trying to put up a shelf in the engine bay of your Cav with the engine open?

[steelwind101]

Begs the question of why you were trying to put up a shelf in the engine bay of your Cav with the engine open?

LOL!

Handy place to keep spare parts and a kettle for all the repair jobs

[Tipex]

You'd never need any spares for the venerable old Cavalier, most reliable car ever made, and and sad loss to the taxi trade when they replaced it with the sh*ttest car in the world, the Vectra.

I reckon he was trying to build a wooden turbo for it, except it wooden work. Ba dum tish!

Thank you ladies and gentlemen, I'm here all week.

[theduisbergkid]

Begs the question of why you were trying to put up a shelf in the engine bay of your Cav with the engine open?

Ha, no, I needed a plastic clip to hold the bonnet insulation in place temporarily, a split-end rawlplug was to hand, did the job, I carried on with my engine work. It 'pinged' off and fell into the engine. Just my luck

[eonibm]

Ha, no, I needed a plastic clip to hold the bonnet insulation in place temporarily, a split-end rawlplug was to hand, did the job, I carried on with my engine work. It 'pinged' off and fell into the engine. Just my luck

Where this piece of plastic fell into is the oil cap hole and inside there are the rocker arms. It that the same thing as the engine? Or is this just connected to the engine. Or is the rocker arm assembly and all the rest all called the engine?

[cruiser647]

Where this piece of plastic fell into is the oil cap hole and inside there are the rocker arms. It that the same thing as the engine? Or is this just connected to the engine. Or is the rocker arm assembly and all the rest all called the engine?

All part of the engine.

Rocker Arms = Cams.

Cams sit at the top of the engine, actuating the valves. (all in what's called the head of the engine)

If you remove your oil filler cap, you'll see the camshafts and possibley valve springs too.

[eonibm]

Well I finally drove the car for an hour. Nothing happened. I guess that a 1/4" piece of plastic doesn't have much effect. Those rockers arms are big and powerful and that and the hot oil likely caused the plastic to slowly disintegrate.