lost oil pressure

[jijiandfarmgang]

Ok for starters
1999 chev malibu 3100. 110000 miles. Aprox 5000 miles a headgasket and lim gaskets replaced. I didn't own the car prior so who knows how much damage was done.

Driving the car and running great on cruise control going 55....then it all of the sudden sputtered started slowing down and low oil pressure light came on all in seconds and made clattering sound. So I turned the car off and coasted to the side.
Checked oil level and it was fine. I knew it was a bad idea but I tried starting it up again , and it barely ran for a minute.....no power wouldn't idle, and felt like it was missing.

You guys think my engine is totally screwed? What should I do, take the front valve cover off and try rotating the crank?

[mfewtrail]

From your description, it sounds like you have a broken camshaft. It's not uncommon for them to break in these engines. Remove the valve cover, spin the engine over, and watch for each valve/rocker arm to move. If only the first few move, the cam is broken. If that is the case, your best bet is to probably grab a good used 3100 from a wrecking yard and swap it out.

[jijiandfarmgang]

Hey,

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I heard of it and was thinking it might be the case. I will check it out this weekend. The best I can see from car-part.com is a 3100 with 186,000 miles on it for 400.

It looks like a camshaft (no lifters) is 197.00 from advance. You think this is an ok option?

[pocket-rocket]

The only problem with just replacing the cam is the cam bearing bores. I have a 3100 here out of a 96 Achieva that met the same fate as your engine. The cam siezed to the bearings and ended up spinning inside of the bores. In fact, 2 of the bearings came out with the cam when I removed it. I never used a boroscope on the cam bearing bores to see if they were enlarged from what happened, but I wouldn't doubt it any if they were. So I second Matt's recommendation of replacing the engine, as much as it sucks

[jijiandfarmgang]

Alright..... Thanks for the info guys


I'll keep looking for a deal on an engine on craigslist I suppose

[pocket-rocket]

www.car-part.com usually rocks too.