loose oil cap?

[bbalanoff]

the oil cap on my 78 spider has completely come off twice in the last 300 miles. fortunately, it has stayed on top of the engine both times. do i just need a new cap, or is this a sign of something else (too much vibration?)
brian balanoff
78 spider

[PSk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbalanoff the oil cap on my 78 spider has completely come off twice in the last 300 miles. fortunately, it has stayed on top of the engine both times. do i just need a new cap, or is this a sign of something else (too much vibration?) brian balanoff 78 spider

[BKCowGod]

Oh Brian... let me tell you a story...

First - check the cap to make sure the metal "can lid" thingie is pointing up. In other words, you want the outside of the lid to be closest to the engine. Then you may want to replace your gasket. After that, you blame the cap. If you really wanna be scared, check out my thread -
White goo...

But since your cap didn't break off but instead rattled, I wouldn't worry too much. If you're careful, you can bend the little tabs to put a bit more tension in, but this will take away some of the metal's structural integrity.

Oh, also - I'd buy a used cap from APE or someone before I got a new one. I put my new one (which failed) next to my old one and it was noticibly thinner metal.

[Farace]

At the National Convention this summer in New Hampshire, Papajam noticed that my oil cap was a bit on the loose side (or was it Paradiso? Or Favali? They were all looking in there). The solution was not to bend the tabs, but rather to take out the gasket and the corrugated metal disk above the gasket, and give that disk a bit more bend so that it presses more firmly down on the gasket and the top of the filler neck. Reinstall the disk and the gasket and put the cap back in place. Haven't had a problem since.