Forgot to replace oil cap! Please help!!
 

Ok, so not as bad as putting diesel in a petrol engine - but close!

Yesterday, when checking my oil level and dipstick, I got sidetracked for a moment and then forgot to put the oil cap back on.

I drove the car (X5 4.4) about 15 miles and then back home only to look under the hood to see oil leaking everywhere and a bad burning smell.
I open the hood and instantly realized what I'd done as amazingly the oil cap was still there!
Today I lightly jet washed the engine and surrounding area, however, upon reving the engine smoke and a burning smell still seemed to come from the engine area.
From speaking to a guy in the local car supply shop he suggestted using an engine degreasant all around the engine bay and underneath the car.
Then rinse it all down.

He assured me that the burning smell and smoke was just the oil (which seemed to spray everywhere!) burning off and it would take several hours to settle down.

I guess the purpose of this question is to see if anyone else has experienced this and/or if anyone disagrees with the advise I've received?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I would say not to worry about it, I have not done this with my X..but I have done it once along time ago with a toyota pickup.... I just used some engine degreaser and washed the engine compartment really well...(minding the electrical connections as best you can..). as long as you fill your oil to the appropriate level everything will be fine, and you will probably get that smell for awhile, until it burns itself off... I wouldn't worry, good thing you caught it when you did!! Prost!

Wow, amazed you had the guts to post this ;) j/k

You probably are in good shape. Oil gets everywhere and even power-washing the engine bay will not get rid of it as oil is not water soluable. So, don't worry however you will have the burning oil smell until it has burned off the block, manifolds and such.

Remember, always double-check everything before shutting the hood!

Yep - I did it a long time ago with a Jeep CJ5. Same deal - no harm done but a burning smell for about a week until everything was burned off all the hot surfaces under the hood and vehicle.

Thanks guys!
Definatly put my mind at rest!
Wagner - yeah, I did think hard about posting this, but considering the feedback from you all the embrassment was worth it! :thumbup:

No significant harm done. I assume you've checked the oil level and topped it off as needed.

The bad stories are those where the drain plug was not screwed in tightly...

For anyone that is interested, I successfully cleaned the engine bay and surrounding area using a spray degressent.
I left the degressent to work over about 20 mins, then jet washed all around the engine and oil pan underneath the car. I turned the wheels to gain access to the underside of the car.
I also removed the soundproof board from under the hood of the car and jetwashed it too as this was soaked in oil!

After the wash I started the car and took it for a good drive - everything was perfect!
No smell, no burning - very happy!

Thanks again.

BTW:- My local BMW dealer quoted me €400 ($550) to clean the oil from the engine bay!

I did this once in college with my Mom's old VW Beatle ... I wasn't so lucky and the knocked the engine.... :banghead:

Needless to say, my Mom was not a happy camper... And she made sure I wasn't either for the next couple of months....:throw: