HELP!!!! Foil in the oil filler tube

So it's a long story, but a very long day of business meetings today followed by the decision to drive home instead of stay the night. It's a 2.5 hour trip home, 100 degrees out, and when I stop for gas the oil level light is on. I know the car has been running a half quart low, it's about due for an oil change, and with the heat today, I decide to stop by an auto parts store and grab a quart of oil. I'm tired as hell, pierce the foil on the top of the quart container, and start to put oil in the filler tube. As soon as I start I see a piece of the foil, about the size of a quarter, go down the tube. After buying a flash light, holding the tube downward, tapping it, etc. there is no foil coming back out. So now I have a piece of foil in the oil pan. After much deliberation, I decided to drive it home (80 miles) while watching the pressure gauge in case the foil blocked something up. It ran fine and nothing out of the ordinary during the drive. Now I need to get the foil out of the pan. I know it was probably a bad decision to drive it. Is there a screen on the oil sump to prevent the foil from being picked up? How about the oil filter? I'm not educated on how an oil system functions and at what point in the flow it runs though the filter. I'm thinking I need a good indy in the Northeast PA or Northern NJ region to take the car to. Please give me your thoughts. Here's what I'm going to do now while you more knowledgeable guys tell me what to do next:

Yes there is a screen, but the opening is pretty close the the size of a quarter, so that piece of foil could easily block it. You need to drop the oil pan and get the piece of foil out before this happens or you could loose oil pressure and damage the engine. The only problem is if the foil has worked its way to the pan yet.

+1 or worse (left the pan and headed "somewhere else")

it can possibly block the intake.... not good. but... it might not of made it down that far.... renn101.jpg

Actually, I think the first thing to do is to drop the filter and see if you got lucky - which is doubtful. If it's not there then you can begin the exploratory surgery.

If the shop has a good bore scope, will they be able to see the pickup tube/screen from the oil drain hole?

In order to the to the filter it has to get to the pan and through the oil pick up tube, then through the oil pump, not much of a chance of that. The path of the oil is from the pan into the oil pick up tube, then to the oil pump, then to the oil filter, then through the oil cooler, and them finally to the engine for lubrication.

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Thanks for the info, that makes me feel better. It was probably a good thing that it was a big piece of foil. That probably makes it much harder to get through the system you noted above causing internal engine damage. I was on the pressure gauge like a hawk all the way home with a hand ready to shut off the ignition if I saw it drop/anything funky. I can deal with dropping the pan, it's most likely there. If not, I don't think there's much of a chance it reached the filter, so at least the location is pretty isolated. I plan on getting it to the indy on a flatbed, so the fact that I got home without an issue is probably a good sign.

I don't think you have to worry quite that much. It will NOT go through that screen, and if it did partially block the oil pick up, running the engine with lower oil pressure for a few seconds won't damage anything either. These cars run much lower oil pressure on track during extended right turns (MK1 cars, and not uncommon to other makes/models), not to mention virtually every post oil change start up, and to a lesser extent, cold starts which is the case on the vast majority of cars/engines.

sounds like the perfect opportunity to add a deep sump oil kit! :-)

or some baffles

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Foil probably still in filler tube. It won't block anything. Likely if it made it down far enough it will either get lodged somewhere in engine or be ingested by the oil scavage pump which will pulverize it and next time you change the oil you'll see a bit of aluminum foil debris -- tiny tiny flakes -- in the oil filter housing oil and in the filter element. I'd not mess with the oil sump unless you feel you must. Remember you have to reseal this very critical piece of hardware. If I were to remove the oil sump I'd be tempted -- even if I don't track the car -- I'd be tempted to add a quality deep sump kit. Sincerely, Macster.

Magnet with extension (auto parts store) might pick it up if still in filler tube, just tie it around your wrist as to not drop it down there also. GL

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Foil on cans/jugs is usually aluminum...

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Most are and likely your right, but it's one of those "ya never know" shots.

Seems like you might be able suction it out with a fluid extractor if it is still in the filler tube, which is what I suspect. One of these (or one like it, Griots is no doubt on the expensive side) http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...d+extractor.do

Hey Bossman - I know this is an old thread but I was curious to know what the outcome / resolution to this situation was? I may have done the same thing. Please, send me a PM or post a reply. Thanks!!

Here's what I would do, since you're going to have to start by draining the oil anyway, drain the oil and see if it comes out. If not, stick your finger in the sump hole and see if you can feel it...it might make it's way to the lowest part of the sump when you drain the oil. If not found, remove drain pan. More than likely it is just sitting there. If not found there, could still be in the filler tube. Give a shot of compressed air down the filler tube and see if it comes out (after drain pan is removed).

I've had two engines die from this in the last year. One was one of mine that was built several years ago. the owner was adamant about servicing his own engine, and he did this not once, but twice! The first time it didn't do damage, and was found during a sump inspection at the end of one season, when he decided to install an oil temp gauge. When the foil gets in the oil supply its very lightweight and is attracted to the inlet of the oil tube. It may live there for a while, but if the car sees high RPM or track use it blocks just enough of the inlet to reduce volume and lead to a bearing failure. If this has happened, pull the oil sump plate, and find the debris. I HATE foil covered oil bottle necks! The piece of foil that costs less than 1 cent, can easily cost a 20 thousand dollar engine.

What I'd do: Go rent a cheap borescope from Autozone. Down the filler tube to see if you can see the foil. If you spot it, use some duct tape to join some small-diameter plastic tube to the business end of a shop vac and use the mini-vacuum w/ the borescope to fish it out. I wouldn't do this blind (no borescope), as cleaning oil out of a shop vac is a lousy job.

I highley doubt its still in the oil filler tube. When you run the engine there is significant amount of sucktion in the oil tube and most likely it already got sucked down into the oil pan. I would just start by draining the oil and see if you get lucky. If not then just pull the oil pan cover.

Wow - I didn't expect to see so many replies. Thanks to all of you. Unfortunately, I don't have a heated garage (old house - semi-detached) and I want to wait for a string of warm days to pull, inspect and replace the sump. I will certainly follow-up with this when I get around to inspecting the sump. In the meantime I guess she'll stay on the jack stands. Oh, any recommendations on sealant Drei Bond1209 vs Loctite 5900? Again, many thanks for your advice.

It's been almost a year since I posted my dilemma and wanted to thank everyone for their input. For those of you who may somehow happen to have this problem - the best and only advice I would suggest is this -> DROP THE OIL PAN! That's what I did and sure enough the foil was sitting at the bottom.

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So you waited almost a year to do this?

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LOL - no, I did it in mid/late March. I travel a bit and don't have a heated garage so it needed to wait. It was a great feeling to fix what I screwed up