Oil cap left off after oil change

My sister just found that the oil cap was left off of her 1999 Accord during the oil change over a month ago. Surprisingly, it was less than a quart low. BUT, the oil had attacked her windshield wiper blade and hood gasket. She wants the store where she had the oil changed to replace what might have been damaged, but what else might that be? Has Honda ever put out a service bulletin listing what might be damaged by oil?

Ray



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rubber is damaged by oil. in addition, you want to be worried about
grit ingestion. otoh, if a driver doesn't check the oil for a whole
month and doesn't notice the omission, i'm not very sympathetic.

regarding the last question, no, there's no service bulletin for
inability to follow basic maintenance procedures.

 

Steam cleaning the engine compartment is probably the best thing to do.
Now wait a minute... if rubber is damaged by oil then how do you
explain why there is grease inside CV Boots, Ball Joints, etc. not to
mention rubber hoses and so on that carry oil.

 

"rubber" covers a multitude of elasto-polymers. some, like neoprenes,
are oil resistant. others aren't. radiator hoses, windshield seals,
brake hoses, are typically rubbers that aren't, or at least, aren't
rated for it, even if they appear to hold up ok for a while.

steam cleaning the engine compartment, while it produces quick results,
is a great way to cause electrical problems up the wazoo and contaminate
the brake system. better to use engine cleaner and a gentle hose,
avoiding the brake reservoir.

 

I drove Chevys and Fords for years that blew oil. Wash it off and get
on with your life. Some stuff that would have rusted will last a
little longer. Everything else will be fine.

 

Hmmm ... that's an idea of how to get rid of unlocatable squeaks.

 

Yes indeed - natural rubber tends to soak up oil, creating a goo of rubbery
oil (or is it oily rubber?) Just about all the synthetics are okay with
petroleum. In addition, natural rubber can handle all sorts of synthetic
lubricants, including most lubricating greases.

I'm a convert to Simple Green for engine cleaning. No big reason - I just
like it.

Mike

 

simple green has a very bad reputation in the bike world for stress
corrosion.

 

I wonder if it would corrode some of my stress away? {;^0

 

I didn't know that! Googling produced quite a few hits, including
http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/9216.0.html
It appears the hazard comes from prolonged exposure, in this case soaking
chains in Simple Green. I haven't been actively riding for some time now (as
my body shape proclaims!) but when I did I soaked my chains overnight in
motor oil, not water-based stuff.

Mike

 

The phrase "all synthetics" would be a stretch, as there are many polymers
based products that are not rated for use with petroleum products (most,
actually), though those used by the auto industry are, by design.