I accidentally dropped a small piece of foil in my engine oil. Will this pose a problem?

I was adding something to my engine oil to stop a small leak that I have. It had one of those little foil safety covers over the spout and while pouring it in, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the foil part fell into the oil. Will this pose a problem.


The car is a 2000 Mercury Cougar, not that it really matters.I accidentally dropped a small piece of foil in my engine oil. Will this pose a problem?
your filter will take care of it.I accidentally dropped a small piece of foil in my engine oil. Will this pose a problem?
I would take the rocker cover out to remove the foil, as it could get stuck under the cam shaft and create undesired probs.


Good luck
The chances are small enough that I wouldn't bother to take the valve cover off to look for it. It could clog a return passage, but the are enough of them that it wouldn't hurt anything. If it did get in the pan and sucked up by the pump, the filter would catch it before it did harm.
Cross your fingers and hope it does not do any harm. It may scar your cylinder walls, get stuck in a valve, make it's way to the oil pick up and partially clog it, or it may just melt away and do nothing.
The oil pump pick up screen will not allow an item like that to enter the oil pump. It is possible that if the foil adheres to the pick up screen it could restrict the flow a bit. The best thing for you to do would be to wait for the next oil change and get the engine flushed. I doubt if anything will be noticed or even result in trouble of any kind.


The best solution for an oil leak is a repair of the leaking gasket, component, etc.
It should be OK when you have your oil changed tell the man to look for it , abut the filter will catch it any way , hope this helps,