Hello all. I've got a bit of a dilemma. I dropped off my 2009 F150, 5.4L for a regular oil change at the dealer yesterday. The guy calls me a little later to tell me that the technician found a piece of material at the drain hole and they think there is a rag that got left in the oil pan. I bought the truck used at the dealer a year ago. They replaced the leaking oil pan gasket about 10 months ago under their used car warranty, so that thing has been in there for 10 months/5,000 miles!

So now what? They'll pull the pan tomorrow, but I'm concerned about internal damage that's already happened or could happen down the road. I've never had any oil pressure issues, but I'd like to know what problems could happen from this thing being in there. I'll ask them to hold onto the rag so I can see it. If it's shredded, we have a major problem. If not, then?????

I'm also looking for advice on what to do next and what I should be asking them to do to mitigate. I have a really bad feeling about this whole thing. The way I see it, they screwed up and I'm supposed to just keep my fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong.

Thanks for the advice.

 

This is what the Oil Pick Up Tube looks like

Sell WM009 ENGINE OIL PICKUP TUBE 2009 FORD F150 3 VALVE 5.4 motorcycle in Arvada, Colorado, US, for US $30.00

It would really depend on what this piece of material looks like and how big it is. You'll have to look at it when you get there and see what the material is and what condition it is in, then I would talk to the service manager and tell him your concerns and see what they tell you and go from there. I wouldnt let them pass it off as no big thing, because of course they are going to tell you that, but you have every right to be worried about this and what effects it may have on the truck

 

When they get the rag out look to if there's any damage to it - chewed up, missing chunks, etc. Most likely the only damage that a rag could/would do is if it blocked the oil pickup; since you said you had no oil pressure problems it probably got oil-soaked and sat in the sump out of the way and caused no problems.

 

If it was going to cause damage the engine would have already failed. Sine it hasn't failed there is nothing to worry about.

 

I'm with Mark and NEH, if it got oil soaked it would be heavy, and not venture to other parts of your engine, unless there were periods that you had the truck nearly airborn, or very rough roads conditions, which caused the oil in the pan to levitate above the pan. For an example, throw a rag in a bowl, put in water, the rag will likely settle to the bottom, then shake the bowl, you will see the water bounce out, but the rag will remain in the bowl, providing you move the bowl in similar fashion to what an engine would be subjected to.
That being said.. I would really like to hear what you/your mechanic found once the pan was removed again. I have been wrong before, and there is a chance I may be wrong again.

 

Did you get any pics of the rag?? Interested to see what it looked like. Mechanic was probably an ex-surgeon.