I've never driven a Jeep without a cap, but in my 35+ years of driving I have had 2 brain farts and forgotten to replace the cap on other vehicles I owned. In both instances there was no doubt the cap was missing. Oil was evident on the hood and components.

Running without a cap won't hurt your engine (as far as mechanically, if you didn't blow out all the oil). It just usually makes a mess to clean up.

Makes me wonder if the place that changed your oil didn't lose it. Not that they did... just that it's an easy claim to blame the driver when they know nobody checks such things when they bring it in for service.

Bottom line. Your OK. Get another cap and install a new "idiot" light on your dash that says, "Do You Have Your Oil Cap?" :rofl:

 

hhahah.. thanks..

Yea i argued with the girl working the service counter as I figured they lost the cap and just charged me for it. She tried to tell me that unless I had been going over a lot of bumps that i wouldn't notice oil in the engine compartment. I laughed and said.. it's a jeep.. Of course i go over bumps, I purposely hit them, she didn't find it as amusing.

Anyway i was just worried about contamination of the oil and now dirty oil getting into the engine.

ALso what would have been the tell tale signs that I was at a critical low level in oil... Any indicator lights? Loss in oil pressure?

 

...Anyway i was just worried about contamination of the oil and now dirty oil getting into the engine.

ALso what would have been the tell tale signs that I was at a critical low level in oil... Any indicator lights? Loss in oil pressure?

If there was no indication of an oil mess in the engine compartment then no oil was lost from the missing cap. The problem would be from dirt and water interring into the hole on your valve cover. Since you never checked your oil level in the first place you have no idea if it was low or any signs of water contamination. Hint: Do your own maintenance from now on.

 

When the light comes on, it's too late.

 

I'm not sure what indicators on the dash you would see these days, other than the "oil" icon lighting up and your oil pressure gauge indicating you were critically low. Surely, if you were that low, you would here knocking, clicking, and other noises coming from an engine low on lubricant.

The cars I was driving as a younger man (when I did the same as you) were pre-computer and from the mid-60's. I noticed my mistakes fairly quickly, as I was constantly checking under the hood to refill fluids on those old wrecks.

 

As you already know, you need to get under the hood more often.