hi guys im new to magnas. im looking to buy a 3rd gen magna/verada and ive had a read through the common faults thread but ive noticed that all the cars ive looked at so far have milky oil when i check the dipstick and under the oil cap. is this a common fault or am i just looking at bad cars?

Sounds like you're looking at bad cars..

Have you taken a look at the FS thread?

There's a few in there..

SuFz :ninja:

milky oil=water in oil

i.e. blown heads, head gastket etc. etc.

milky oil means you will have problems straight up

and yes you are looking at the bad ones

milky oil = no go! if you do be prepared to put a new engine in. Even if oyu change the gaskets it may have already done some damage. Rule of thumb - run away.

they do sound very bad! :-(

look also for: noisy CV joints on full lock and accelerating, knocking suspension, bad idle, oil leaks from rear of engine etc. But milky oil is a no no sign

most of the cars ive looked at seemed fine except for the milky oil when i check them. its a shame because i came across a pretty nice looking verada xi today but it probably had the most milky oil out of everything ive seen. all the cars ive looked at have had less than 200,000kms so im surprised they have problems like this. should i be looking at cars with over 200 thou with new timing belts instead?
my budget is 4k max

milky oil=water in oil

i.e. blown heads, head gastket etc. etc.

milky oil means you will have problems straight up

and yes you are looking at the bad ones

No.

Milky oil is typically from a build up of condensation. It is very rarely a head gasket in these unless the motor has overheated and warped the heads.

These cars have probably been stationary for a long time and need a good run.

If unsure, a compression test can be done to confirm heads are ok

milky oil = no go! if you do be prepared to put a new engine in. Even if oyu change the gaskets it may have already done some damage. Rule of thumb - run away.

they do sound very bad! :-(

look also for: noisy CV joints on full lock and accelerating, knocking suspension, bad idle, oil leaks from rear of engine etc. But milky oil is a no no sign

what kind of damage can it cause? if its a small amount of coolant with no temperature issues could i get away with just changing the oil more regularly? just need a cheap run around for a while thats all

See post above.

No.

Milky oil is typically from a build up of condensation. It is very rarely a head gasket in these unless the motor has overheated and warped the heads.

These cars have probably been stationary for a long time and need a good run.

If unsure, a compression test can be done to confirm heads are ok

as I said etc. etc.

But also that too

is 4k enough to realistically get a good 3rd gen or would i be better off with an older one?

if the coolant looks clean and its just milky oil then would it just be condensation as mentioned above

I think you could get a decent third gen magna for 4k, remember that large cars are a hard sell at the moment, I would even look for cars priced as high as 5k and a half intelligent seller should be willing to sell for lower, used cars never sell for the asking price.

In my experience the 3.5L magnas can take a lot of Ks, so don't be put off by higher K ones, as long as it has been well kept and serviced.

Where are you finding these cars btw?

No.

Milky oil is typically from a build up of condensation. It is very rarely a head gasket in these unless the motor has overheated and warped the heads.

These cars have probably been stationary for a long time and need a good run.

If unsure, a compression test can be done to confirm heads are ok

Thanks Dave, first proper response.

A lot of cars, especially in yards will have this issue as they get run for 3 mins, we have cold moist air and condensation causes this

For a third gen to do a head gasket or head is bloody rare

Thanks Dave, first proper response.

A lot of cars, especially in yards will have this issue as they get run for 3 mins, we have cold moist air and condensation causes this

For a third gen to do a head gasket or head is bloody rare

I did it in my VR-X :D

all the cars ive looked at have been in yards or through carsales. most of the private sellers have bought a new car and their magna is not being driven. i feel much more confident buying some of these vehicles now. im test driving a verada on friday, i hope it all checks out because its a very nice car. it had 177,000kms on it and a the oil on the top of the dipstick was milky so i assume that was the condensation. the cap however had some build up on it which was thick and white. mechanics checks are quite expensive but ive bought my fair share of used cars before and generally know what to look for, however is there anything specific to the 3.5 to watch for that hasnt been mentioned yet?

I've never seen thick white buildup inside an oil cap but I don't think it can be a good thing...

Thanks Dave, first proper response.

A lot of cars, especially in yards will have this issue as they get run for 3 mins, we have cold moist air and condensation causes this

For a third gen to do a head gasket or head is bloody rare

also remembering I live in far nth queensland, we drop below 10 degrees for a hour at most.

so that problem is extremely rare, when we see milky oil normally means something wrong.

ill take if for a drive and see. ill also check the coolant and see what that looks like. could even have just been a little buildup on the cap so ill have a closer look and see if the inside of the rocker cover looks ok

Play the car yards at their own game and bargain some serious value of the car.

Definitely go for a third gen. Heck I looked at one $2,000 out of my budget. Offered them cash on the spot and they accepted it. Its such a sturdy, reliable, luxurious and generally bloody fantastic car. I've had a second gen Verada before too. I'd definitely say go for the third gen, preferably Xi. They're fantastic.

Play the car yards at their own game and bargain some serious value of the car.

i had a look at the car today and we negotiated a price. 3999 with 12 months rego, rwc and im sure they'll provide some kind of warranty ill just have to ask and check. its a 98 kf verada xi with 177,000kms.
i told him id come back on friday for a more thorough check and provided the drive went well and all the electrics work id take it. does the price seem reasonable?

I also offer inspections for $95 and part of that is a monoxide test

But that Milky Oil is a worry ...... that'd have to knock $1000 off the price at least ;)

haha very true. ill make a big fuss and see how it goes

common issue with cars that sit for a while. even brand new cars get it, ask them to do a service before taking delivery or get a Mechanical check before buying the car.

id rather do the service myself with quality fluids. ill see if i can get them to knock a couple hundred off the price for doing so. makes me feel a lot better knowing its just what happens when a cars been sitting there for a while. ive never shopped around at car yards before so i havent really ever seen it. this is exactly why i joined and asked, ive heard only good things and thought it was unlikely ive seen so many in a row that i thought were duds

If you are seriously considering buying a car, work out a 'price' THEN go and get a full mechanic check on it. If there are a few things wrong with it you then can talk them down further, possibly. If you work out a price after you get the check, it would most likely be the same price as what you could have got before anyway. They won't go much lower, but hopefully they won't have to go lower at all - in that the car is fine! A few things like bushes etc. aren't too expensive if you can do them yourself, otherwise it might cost you a bit. If it's a car yard, you may even be able to get them to fix certain issues as part of the sale.

Odds are the vehicle is used for frequent short trips or only started and idled for short periods in a car yard.
The engine never heats up hot enough to burn off excess moisture caused by condensation in the crankcase.
Thus it coats the inside of the rocker cover not just the cap!! ALso at the top of the dipstick.
The oil at the bottom of the dipstick should be normal in colour..........
Not usually anything to worry about.
Thats one reason for more frequent oil changes on cars used for very short trips.

well guys i took the car for a test drive it all seemed to check out. i put a deposit on a 98 verada xi :D