VY Oil Issues

[Dr HaxZaw]

hey all
I recently bought a vy s series 2 with the 3.8l v6. After about 3000 k's the oil warning light would come on during heavy braking. I checked the oil and added 2.5 litres of Valvoline SAE 15w40. Another 1500 k's later it needed another 500ml.
Is this usual or should i get it checked??

[vysute]

to me it sounds as though you have a rather large oil leak... this used to happen to my old ford (but it deserved it for being a ford) i would recommend checking to see if there is any visible leaks from inside the engine bay or under the car and would take it to a trusted mechanic to get the issue solved. All assuming it is an oil leak.

[Dr HaxZaw]

I've been checking for the past 2 weeks and havent found any oil leaks on the driveway or in the engine bonnet... however i'll double check
Its not blowing any smoke either which is why i cant figure out what the problem is

[Sean880]

hey all
I recently bought a vy s series 2 with the 3.8l v6. After about 3000 k's the oil warning light would come on during heavy braking. I checked the oil and added 2.5 litres of Valvoline SAE 15w40. Another 1500 k's later it needed another 500ml.
Is this usual or should i get it checked??

Do people wait for an oil warning light to appear now before they check their engine oil levels?

Yes your engine needs to be checked out.

1. The entire system in the V6 takes approx 5.6 litres of oil so if you had to add 2.5 litres to get it back to full then you have been running the engine seriously low on oil.

2. 500ml of engine oil for 1500 kms (if that is the latest rate of consumption) is excessive oil consumption for a healthy engine. If you have a high km car and the oil changes have only been done every 13-15000 km intervals or more ( insufficient when using standard oils) then you may have very worn piston rings and the engine will likely burn excessive oil. Then there is possible damage from potential intermittent lubrication starvation from running the engine with about 3 - 3.5 litres of oil in the sump.

3. Check for any obvious external engine oil leaks. Does your engine drop oil on the floor when parked. It should not drop any. If so get it checked and if it is other than a very minor leak it will need to be rectified soon.

4. Check your radiator fluid (when COOLED) and see if there is any evidence of oil in the cooling system fluid. If there is you probably have engine oil blowing into the cooling system via a faulty/blown head gasket . Also check for evidence of cooling system fluid in your engine oil. This is also a sign of a faulty head gasket. If there is any cross contamination in either then get it checked out.

5. Check all the oil and fluid levels in your car weekly (more often when doing long km trips ). You will need to set aside a whole 5 minutes for this once a week so it's really taxing.

These are:
engine oil - GMH recommends 10W/30 grade oil for these engines
cooling system fluid
power steering fluid
brake fluid
auto trans fluid when hot (or clutch fluid for manual transmissions)
battery fluid if it is not a sealed type battery.

[1991_Vn2nV]

I've been told by a few mechanics now that the VY's tend to burn through the 10w30 reccomended oil as they get a bit older. Any reccomendations for a VY approaching 150,000kms?

[chargedvx6]

20-50w is the way to go. Quietens the lifters down plenty too

[vxcalais_01]

hey all
I recently bought a vy s series 2 with the 3.8l v6. After about 3000 k's the oil warning light would come on during heavy braking. I checked the oil and added 2.5 litres of Valvoline SAE 15w40. Another 1500 k's later it needed another 500ml.
Is this usual or should i get it checked??

Car will lose oil for a number of reasons;

1) Oil being burnt due to poor oil and too thin. 10w30 is too thin for the Ecotec. A robust oil is Mobil Delvac MX, Repco Diesel 15w40 or Delo 400 Multigrade. If you want synthetic, Shell helix Ultra 5w40 etc. Then go up from there gradually.

2) Damaged Seals. Valve stem needs mechanical repair. Front and rear seals can leak either from damage or shrunken and dry. If dirty and shrunken, a High Mileage oil like Shell Helix plus high mileage, Valvoline Maxlife may help. If the seal is damaged you need to replace it, but i doubt is as 1/2 a litre you would notice all over the place.

3) Leaking LIM gasket - It seems to me that a leaking intake manofild gasket is leaking oil into the intake and burning it up. It could be going into the radiator but 1/2 a litre of oil you will see straight away in the radiator system.

4) Head gasket - Diagnose in the usual.

Burning 1 litre of oil per 5000k's is normal. Chopping and changing oils will also burn more as the new oil moves in and cleans up the previous one burning oil in the process. But again, you are losing too much for it to be this.

[0081]

Is it possible that becuase it was short by 2.5L and you filled it back up the oil has just filled a few dry places around the motor and it just needs some more oil???

I would just top it back up and keep an eye on it over the next few months

[Dr HaxZaw]

Thanks for all the info... i might wait and see if it settles down with some better oil... also got told a good idea was buy 2 new oil filters and a decent oil and a high quality oil... change the filter and oil and replace it with a decent quality oil... run it for a week and then change the oil and filter and replace with the higher quality oil and new filter... apparently this cleans the engine out really well