Rod bearing, Oil Pump?

[grasp]

94 atx 3.2. 110k all stock and original. Started my car and was driving for about 10 minutes when the oil light came on. Pulled over and threw some oil in. Started the car oil light was off. 2 minutes later light was back on i heard a noise. Wasnt so much of a tap though different but hard to explain. pulled over again shut it off. i know i wasnt 2 quarts low on oil. So a minute later i start the car and the light is off and theres no noise. 2 minutes later light is on noise is back. The cycle continued until i got home. So i changed the oil. Now the oil light stays off but there is a strange noise. Not a tapping more of like a high pitched continous noise. My thoughts were either than its the oil pump not pumping to full capacity or the rod bearing.

 

[grasp]

Can anyone describe the noise when a rod bearing goes bad?

 

[shojuan]

It knocks like crazy, like a motorized hammer. It'll sound so bad you'll be afraid to back the car out of the driveway.

 

[ManySHOs]

Which oil light? The red pressure warning light or the yellow oil level light? If it's a red pressure light than you have a serious issue that is probably related to your knocking. The oil pump should be fine. They don't really go bad. I suspect that you have a bad or spun rod bearing.

Ian

 

[ManySHOs]

So where in S. Jersey are you? Maybe I can swing by and have a listen..

Ian

 

[grasp]

it was the red pressure light which i thought was the level light at first. the light is no longer on but the noise is there. im in wildwood crest. where are you located?

 

[ManySHOs]

it was the red pressure light which i thought was the level light at first. the light is no longer on but the noise is there. im in wildwood crest. where are you located?

Too bad, I'm in Pitman-It's too far for a casual drive for me to really make it out there. Yes, the red light is the oil pressure light. Based on what you;ve said, I suspect that you have a spun rod bearing. I'd stop running the car immeadiately and remove the oil pan to take a look at the rod bearings. Hopefully nothing was damaged and you can get away with just replacing the bearings with new ones.

The last time I checked, http://www.kurtmetros.com/ had a good writeup on how to replace the bearings. It sounds like an intimidating job but it isn't so bad. Granted, I did mine with the engine on a stand but it isn't too bad if you don't mind some oil dripping in your hair and eyes.

Good luck

Ian

 

[jedhead]

You can do a rod bearing change with the engine in the car. You will have to remove the starter, y-pipe and oil pan. I would also remove the sparkplugs to make rotating the engine easier.

Bob

 

[ManySHOs]

You can do a rod bearing change with the engine in the car. You will have to remove the starter, y-pipe and oil pan. I would also remove the sparkplugs to make rotating the engine easier.

Bob

Just to clarify, I only did it on a stand because I was building an engine at the time. I would not advocate removing the engine to do a rod bearing swap.

Ian

 

[grasp]

That kurtmetros site is really helpful thanks alot. I really hope this is the problem. It doesnt sound like a motorized hammer. Its not even a knock sound.