Help for a beginner

[mimran]

I am new to the camaro scene, and actually new to working on cars as well.

I checked my oil last night, and found two potential problems:
1. The stem to my oil dipstick rotated very easily at the point of connection... is this normal? Should I make an effort to tighten it?

2. I need to add oil... this is stupid, but... where do I do it? There is nothing marked Oil fill, no oil cap, nothing. The chrome valve cover on the passenger side has a breather cap... is this where the oil goes?

Gosh I am so new it scares me.

Thanks for your help!

R

[Dan_in_WA]

We all started somewhere, sometime. You gotta learn how from someone, that's what we're here for.

The dipstick sounds like it needs to be replaced. Should be an inexpensive part, even from the dealer.

Yes; remove the oil breather cap and dump the oil in there. I prefer to do this on a cold engine. A hot engine getting cold oil dropped on the castings could lead (in theory) to a cracking problem due to thermal shock.

I drain the oil when it's hot, however. It comes out quicker, and more completely that way. Then I just wait an hour or so before dumping in the new oil. Needless to say, I don't work in a shop.

I'm no doubt going overboard on this, too.