Hi all, I come to you a little embarrassed but also very confused.

After a crap afternoon changing the rocker (valve/head what ever you want to call it) cover gasket on the GF car (along the way the alternator stud snapped in the process), everything is now back together.

The last thing to go back in is the dipstick - and low and behold it just falls in. Now before I took the cover off, the dipstick felt like it was held by a guide/seal or something, and when you get to the twisted section of the dipstick it was quite tight and to get it back in you usually had to hold it close to the head/cover and really give it a shove to get it back in, I always wondered if this was correct as wasn't natural at all. Now however it just falls in - I'm presuming when I removed the cover something fell off and into the head and I didn't see it. Is this the case ? I've looked at exploded diagrams but I can't seem to find whatever it is that used to guide/support the dipstick in. In my internet search I found this video of a guy topping up with oil and he doesn't seem to have the stiff dipstick - .

Or there is a possibility that there was something in the cover/head that was blocking the dipstick and when I removed the cover its drop in - but I can't think of what it could have been.

Can someone please help and advise as otherwise tomorrow I've got to take it all off again to see if I've left dropped something in the top of the head :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-(

Many thanks

 

Post a picture of the valve cover.