Heres the deal,

It was getting dark,
I was changing my oil,
unscrewing the filter.... realized that I had been screwing for a while.... the next turn I felt the filter drop.
The problem is this: The filter wasn't free from the engine yet. The filter was still connected to the _____ (dont know what it is called...) The ____ had come unattached to the motor, and dropped. What the heck happened??!! It wasn't/Isn't light enough to look right now, but when I felt on the top of the ____ while I was turning the filter, the center of it felt like a tube of some sort, and was turning as well....

What should I do? I need the car tomorrow afternoon...... really badly....

Thanks for the help in advance!

First the screwball electrical problems, then the stereo, now this.... when does it stop??

 

Could be the Oil cooler that you unscrewed, but it should'nt be possible when the coolant lines are attacht to it.........

 

If your talking about the threaded shaft that your filter screws onto on the block I think you can replace those pretty easily. It may have been loose and when you unscrewed the filter it unscrewed instead. When you have enough light check to make sure the block isn't stripped where it threads in and reinstall it or buy a new one.

 

U dont own a drop light?

 

The piece you would want to order is called an oil bypass valve. You could get it at the dealer for about $10. It has two bolts that connect it to the block.

 

What happened is that there is a tube with a male end which threads into your oil filter and a female end which threads onto a piece which contains the oil filter bypass and is bolted onto your block. This tube passes through your oil cooler. This tube simply unscrewed from the block end instead of the filter end. If you look where the filter screws onto the tube, you should see that there is a nut cast as part of that tube. You may be able to get a wrench on this and unscrew it. If not try putting the tube in a vise and unscrewing the filter from it. If you do not have a vise try using channel locks and having someone hold the filter. Once you have removed the tube from the filter use a little thread locker in the female end that screws back into the block and screw it back on. Make sure you use non permanent thread locker. This should get you back on the road. Let me know what happens. -John