Its so weird, I've be racking my brains all day and the only thing I could think is the filter is blocked, but that would bring the light on. Whatever the strange noise was on sunday not heard it since.

IIRC the sump is not baffled but does have some wire wool type stuff that acts as a filter, it sits in a recess in the sump itself...

Come to think of it that might be the 4 pot k series, not sure if its the same in the v6... could be worth checking though.

Also, what is condition of the oil? And the oil cooler?

Gave the car an oil + filter change yesterday and now it seems sweet as a nut. Filter seemed fine but the oil needed changing anyway.