I need help! I am not mechanically inclined by nature but I am getting fed up of paying good money to others without even having a go myself.
I have noticed tonight that there seems to have been a bit of an oil explosion, possibly from the dipstick but can't understand what has happened.
Can someone throw some light on this for me or let me know if I need to call the bank manager in the morning.

ta

you sure the dipstick and filler cap were on properly? also, it could be brake fluid, and if it is, get it cleaned up asap as it'll be stripping the paint. in fact, its probably not, the paint would be off by now.

oil explosion

I once had that problem at about 130k, the breath at the back / top of the engine block (left side)requires cleaning out inclulding the spring, that is why it is forcing the oil up arround the dip stick.( no that im mechanical)

Thanks Guys.

It sounds like the second posting has it spot on. Do you think this is something I could do myself or will I have to take it the garage?

It doesn't sound like good news to me and wondered if I should stop using the car until it's fixed.

If it is a garage job, what sort of money should I expect to fork out?

Once again thanks for taking the time to come back to me.

yes, any one can carry out this repair, it will take you 15minutes once you have taken the plastic shield cover off. clean out the gunge remove the spring and clean / soak in petrol and then replace.
Hope thats a good enough discription from memory.

Thanks for coming back to me.

I'm going to sound extremely dumb I know but which plastic shield cover? Is this the black one on the side of engine just above the dipstick?

I am determined to gain some knowledge about this stuff but need a starting point.

Once again thanks for your help so far.

Ta

roger