Chiff

I took car to a local shop to get a oil change and I cought the guy doing the oil change tryng to loosen up the sealed oil plug on top of the valve cover with a big adjustable wrench ., I managed to stop him rite wen he had just got to turn it a little bit .., long story short I explained how to do it properly and he completed the oil change ..,anyways this was about 8 k miles ago ., or maybe 12k and I havnt experienced any issues wat so ever since ., car runs soild

erick_e

There are little plastic locking tabs on the inside of that cap, which are supposed to prevent it from being loosened. I guess it's possible that those little broken pieces could get caught in a oil passage or ground up in the oil pump. But as often as you hear about this mishap, I don't think there is much evidence that it has actually contributed to any failure.

Same thing happened to me, by the dealer, during/after having my heads replaced.

Chiff

Have you experienced any issues and did yu take yur valve cover off to check it ?

Z06pete

Yea, The same thing happened to me on my 2007 Z06. The shop mechanic had completely taken off the cap with his bare hands, No tools. I haven't had any trouble since this mishap. I don't worry any more since I've put more than a thousand miles since.

djfury05

I've taken my cap off and inspected it very thoroughly.. there were no indications of any tabs breaking off the cap. Didn't seem like there were any tabs at all to begin with.

erick_e

Copied from another thread.

harrydirty

A bit off topic here, but if these plugs are not for adding oil, then why are they there?

3X2

Because the rocker cover casting is the same for both wet sump and dry sump engines. The plug (cap) is installed on dry sump engines as opposed to a fill tube on wet sump engines. Wonder how these 'mechanics" check the oil on a d.s.engine.......................

Chiff

Thbks for the input and I guess I shoudlnt worry about it anymore I already drove the car for over 6k miles since then so Im just going to leave it in the past ., not much I can do now anyway ., thanks for the input everybody

harrydirty

I thought it was something like that.........you would think that GM would put something a bit more permanent, like a flush plug, instead of a cheap plastic plug that can be pulled out. But I guess saving a few bucks/cents is still paramount, eh?

3X2

It is permanent. It has to be forced and broken to remove it from the rocker cover. Where do these "mechanics" check the oil level? The fill is right next to the dipstick. Of course, when all else fails, read the manual.

harrydirty

Well, it was meant by GM to be permanent, but when it looks exactly like so many other oil fill plugs that are removed to add oil, I have to say that does not look permanent. If it were flush with the valve cover and there is nothing to grab onto, THAT is permanent.

I agree with your RTFM comment tho, especially the dealer techs.

Bill Dearborn

It is easy to make mistakes. All it takes is a little inattention at a critical time. When I took my car to a shop to have the heads pulled and checked I took Green Painter's tape and wrapped it around the plug. Then I used a felt tip pen to right a very big NO on the tape. The guys at the shop kidded me about it but i said it helps prevent mistakes and they agreed it should hopefully stop somebody who isn't familiar with the car and how to add oil.

Bill

carpe dm

This is only one reason why I change my own oil! I suppose that when I amin my 80's, someone will have to help me off the garage floor.....