Hi folks, I'm new here so please don't bite!

Well as the story goes, I was having a quick squizz at the fluid levels before taking off for the weekend and as I was screwing in the oil cap the bottom half of the thread just snapped off into the rocker cover area. We've managed to get most of it out with pliers, so I don't think there will be much debris left but I'm wondering if say a few chips of the brittle plastic left in there will cause any issues (short or long term)? I haven't turned the motor over since then, but I will be needing to take it out tomorrow.

I've seen a piece about .5cm long, but couldn''t grab it and now it's fallen down out of reach. Will it end up in the oil filter out of harms way?

The car is a Falcon EL 4L I6 btw. Cheers!

why not just take the tappet cover off and get the rest of the s**t out..

yes take the tappet cover off ''and get it all out the price of time and a gasket is cheeper than a motor rebuild

it should be ok, the bit of plastic will make its way down to the sump and probably settle itself on the bottom of the sump, being plastic its not going to cause major damage.
It wont make its way to the oil filter unless it is smaller than about 1mm x 1mm due to the screen over the oil pump pickup.
Long term it shouldnt really be an issue, if your lucky it might even flow out with the oil at the next service.

i'd be taking the cover off and cleaning it out. and speaking of new oil caps, saw today that Speco make a Chrome one for EA onwards.

eh, its no worse than having broken valve stem seals which is a common occurance..............

Well thanks guys for your suggestions. I did find a couple more pieces in there after loosening the rocker cover (didn't take it all the way off tho). I've pieced the old cap together and it's pretty much all out bar a few crumbs... Now I'll just cross my fingers and hope the taxi keeps on ticking (not literally).