Hi, I am new and not very mechanically minded and was hoping someone might be able to help me or make a suggestion or have seen this problem before.

My 2001 KJ Verada XI (bought approx 5 years ago, 170,000 km) has always used quite a bit of oil between services...around 4 litres or so. Yet no obvious oil stains on ground or billowing blue smoke.

Then a while ago, the oil pressure light started coming on when it got up to running temp. Engine also seemed noisier...lifters (?) louder, like not properly oiled. Gave it to local Ultratune (I know) and 'your engine's stuffed mate'. Based on I'm not sure what.

But a cluey mate of mine said your engine is probably clogged up with oil sludge ('cholesterol' he calls it). So put some lifter-freeing stuff in, ran it, then some engine flush, then changed oil and filter. But no appreciable difference.

Now (unregistered and uninsured) leave in drive way, have put 'marvel mystery oil' in oil, and run it for 20 mins every day or so, to try to loosen some of the sludge. Planning to change oil and filter again.

Am I without hope? Or can this treatment gradually work?

Adding a magic oil and expecting it to fix a problem like sludge (real or imagined) or low oil pressure is a waste of time.
If you want to keep the car for any length of time, get another engine or pull yours apart to see what is really going on, and fix problems. Low oil pressure on a 170,000 km Magna engine is unusual, there must be a real problem in there, like a damaged oil pump or stuck relief valve. Could be something simple like a big dent in the sump that is blocking the oil pickup.

Alternatively, sell the car to someone who wants to fix it, or junk it.

On your next oil change, try something heavier than what you are using now, and see if it improves things.

Thanks for reply.

I haven't made up my mind what to do with car yet. I inherited another so no pressure to hurry. But I quite like the Verada. Body is good, good sound system, like sunroof, leather seats etc.

I costed another motor, second-hand from wreckers, around 120,000km, installed, is about $1600.

Problem is I'm not very mechanical, and don't have place to do work, so anything I do to car, apart from simple stuff, I have to pay for. So there is a limit on a 12 year old car.

I'm just tossing up the alternatives and trying to size up what could be wrong, and what's a cost effective approach.

cheers

You've pretty much solved the problem for yourself, there.

Can't work on the car yourself, don't want to spend $1.6K on fixing it, so options left? None really, move the car on to someone who can fix it, or junk it.

(Personally, I'd rip into the engine to see what is wrong, then fix it or if not repairable, put another motor in. A KJ Verada is worth keeping on the road.)

If sludge is the problem then it means the engine hasn't had the oil changed regularly.
As MadMax said, I would be looking underneath to make sure the sump hasn't had a hit.

It could also be a mostly blocked oil pump pickup.

Take it to a shop and get them to put an oil pressure gauge on it and see if the pressure is in spec.
Sounds like the pressure is low, if so have them take the sump off and have a look around.

Also if the oil hasn't been changed at intervals, might be worth inspecting the pump as well.

It's not that I won't spend $1600 on the 'new' engine. If that seems reasonable in the end I may do that. Although, being second-hand that could also come with probs but hopefully not as bad.

I'm just trying to judge what the best path is. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of money trying to find the problem, not find it, when it could have gone to a drop-in engine.

What would make the car, with my sort of symptoms, 'unrepairable'.

Is there any "sludge" that you can see, peeking through the oil filler cap?
Definitely sounds like something is wrong.. as Max said those are two possibilities. What oil brand and type are you using?
Penrite HPR10 (10w50) I think is the most favored among the members here, but it may not be worth paying the extra if any damage is already done.

Did you drive around for long when the oil light was coming on and what was the oil level at?

Are you in an area where you can get multiple quotes for diagnosis / repair?

I will check the sump for a hit. Was going to get a quote to check the oil pickup the next time I was going to dump the oil and filter.

There wasn't really much sludge visible through oil cap though it did look like there were little slivers of 'particles' in there.

As soon as oil light came on, I basically drove home. And pretty much the only running I've done is to service centre and running it in drive way to circulate additive since.

I'm in SA at the moment and closest to me is Ultratune, though I may be able to ferret out one or two more less obvious ones to get a quote from.

It's a matter of judging what it could be, how far to go, how much to spend etc.

It's not that I won't spend $1600 on the 'new' engine. If that seems reasonable in the end I may do that. Although, being second-hand that could also come with probs but hopefully not as bad.
I'm just trying to judge what the best path is. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of money trying to find the problem, not find it, when it could have gone to a drop-in engine.
What would make the car, with my sort of symptoms, 'unrepairable'.

Without hearing or seeing the motor, just going by your information, If it was me, I would be dropping another motor in.. especially if the replacement motor has had a recent timing belt kit and seals/gaskets done.
You could spend more than $1600 finding your current issue then have to spend more shortly after if you encounter oil leaks or other items that are on their way out from not being maintained fully.

yes it seems unlucky to find my sort of problem in a car with only 170,000 on the clock...given many people with far more mileage and no such problem. I guess I can't know the usage and maintenance before I got the car though the service books look pretty good.

I am firming towards getting another motor but luckily, as i said, there is no immediate hurry. I notice some guy is selling a brand new, never been in car, 3.5 L motor for around $1800 which is tempting, though installation on top of that in 12 year old car makes it less attractive.

Mate it will all come down to whether you've damaged the engine from running it too long with the oil light on.
I still think the cheapest way out at the moment is to have the sump removed.
You won't see much through the oil filler hole, they usually have a baffle which stops you seeing too much anyway.
If you need to check for sludge, lift a rocker cover.

If you have an oil pressure prob, the obvious place to start is the oil pickup or the oil pump/ relief valve.

Much cheaper than a 2nd hand engine.