Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmer49
I'd be checking engine oil pressure if your light is coming on!
You should have saved your money, VVT replacement only cures a rattle, nothing else!
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Luckily I found out what the issues were and solved them, the oil pressure light was caused by a previous owner running the car for 1000s of miles with a stuck-open thermostat, the engine was running cold which presumably helped to cause engine sludge on top of some really old/black oil. I know this because you could scrape the black grit off the oil filler cap & grill with a screwdriver plus there was a little bit of gritty crap coming out of the sump plug.
The VVT rattle is a separate issue which I have solved temporarily by unplugging the solenoid, again probably ruined by the engine running on bad oil & stone cold temperatures.
Anyhow, I changed the oil/filter, the oil light issue eased off somewhat, did another oil change with an over the counter oil flush 200 miles later & then changed the thermostat so that the car would run at normal operating temperature, again eased off some more. However it only took roughly 13 miles to have the oil light come on and i would have quite a rough running engine anyway. I then decided to take drastic action about 700 miles after this change
I bought 3 litre of diesel and then added 2 litres of some spare cheap oil to the mix, shook it about, then dumped my old oil out and replaced it with the diesel mix. Ran the engine for 20 mins and dumped all that crap out and replaced it with 20w50 mineral oil. Now about 300 miles later my car is running much smoother and no oil light and rarely rattles on start-up now. It's not perfect but the oil is staying very clean so far which surprised me. The diesel/oil flushing mix though not recommended is far more effective and affordable than that snake oil you buy from the motor factors. I'm going to do it again in a month's time to keep flushing the crap out of it.
I was tempted to sell the car when I first posted but to be honest it's redeemed itself quite well, I didn't think it would come back to life like it has and it is a pleasure to drive. I don't worry at all now I've done the diesel flush.
TLDR
1. VVT Rattle? Unplug your VVT solenoid.
2. Oil pressure light? Flush engine with diesel/oil 60/40 mix then re-assess.