OK
Bought a very tired v6 auto wagon off eBay and recently finished the repaint.
Previous owner said it had an oil leak at the back of the engine somewhere, but it turned out to be the common blowing oil out of the oil cap problem.
Much head scratching followed, but its a common problem and there are many hints to fixing it on the forum. Cleaned out the PCV valve, tightened the rocker cover bolts to spec, and checked the short hose for blockage - still it leaked. Turned out that blowing into the rocker cover through the hose showed it was blocked. Rocker cover off, solvent injected, and much jabbing with a piece of wire. Cleared the blockage, reassembled, all good.
So, if you have this problem, try blowing/ sucking not just the PCV valve, but also the spout on the front rocker cover. Lots of wet carbon lining the inside of the cover, but at 231,000 km this is to be expected. Some neglect involved too I'd guess.
Anyhoo, a big thank you to all those who have helped me track the problem down.

An unrelated question(s). The auto box has overdrive and a lock up torque converter, right? At what speed does the lock up operate? Is there any advantage to locking out 4th gear around town?

Yes, the auto does have an overdriven 4th and a lock up torque convertor, which operate at (IRIC) speeds above 80km/h.

When I had my KR V6, I always had 4th locked out around town, mostly because I never had the chance to use it, but partially due to a chat with my mechanic. He said that using overdrive around town (ie. low speeds) created harmonic resonance within the transaxle, which would shorten it's life. Whether or not there was actually any truth in that, I'll never know.

Thanks for your reply.

I haven't seen the lock up yet, mainly because I haven't hit 80 KPH in the thing yet . . . .:bowrofl:
OK on the overdrive - cuts in at 50 round town, but I will leave it off.

Thanks again.