jj71787

Hey guys I have a 98 v6 but thinking about buying a z28 because my v6 wont start anymore.
The day before Christmas eve I was driving on the highway and it sounded like the lifters starting to tap so before I could find a shoulder to pull over on the car shut down right as I got to the shoulder. The check gauges light was on and the oil gauge was in the red. I checked the oil there was oil in the car. I emptied the oil the other day to check for metal inside of it and there was oil but no metal. My dad thinks maybe a bearing spun. What else could it be?

kallcium

Sounds like you Camshaft was starved of oil. I once had a problem like that in a Chevy diesel motor... ended up finding a clogged oil passage to one of the cam bearings... however could be a number of things, you would almost just have to open up your motor to find out.

jj71787

I told my dad about that and he doesn't want to open the motor guess the car will just be for parts

kallcium

Before you go an junk the car, take the valve covers off.... those aren't too difficult to remove. Turn the engine over with the starter and just see what you can see... you should be able to see oil if you keep the starter one for a few seconds and should be able towatch all the valves and such.... this could tell you if you have a serious problem or a mionor one.... would hate to have you junk a car for a simple problem.

Evolution223

so you had it towed home & haven't run it since it broke down? Even if it did spin a bearing that's still a pretty easy fix for a mechanic. I think all they have to do is drop the oil pan and the bearings are right there.

jj71787

My brother said the same thing to take off the valves I iffy try that it'll be the first time for me. My dad also wants to take off the oil pan but he wants to do it the hard way and just unbolt it and slide it off not take off the exhaust or anything

kallcium

I'd just start with the valve covers. The oil pan is a big job. These are unibody cars and the Cross member under the oil pan is one solid piece. To take off the ran you need to unbolt the exhaust, remove the starter and unbolt the engine from the engine monts and transmission mount. To get the engine mount bolt out you have to remove the AC compressor. Then you need an engine hoist to raise the motor up enough to get enough clearance to remove the oil pan... remember there is an oil pump to clear on the inside as well. There may be a few things I am forgetting since its been a couple of years since I removed my oil pan in my 96 3.8 but anyways short of just cutting it off.... the oil pan is not an easy job.

jj71787

ok guys I know I posted this awhile ago but the weather hasn't been that good. today was really nice so I went to go check if the car was throwing any codes. I plugged the battery back in and the alarm started going off as it usually does when the battery goes back on. but this time it wouldn't turn off from the remote. It was weird because if i held down the brake pedal the alarm went off but once i let it go the alarm went nuts again. Also the battery was dead so I couldn't check if there were any codes.

I doubt it's this simple but the alarm cant cause the car to shut down while driving and not let it turn back on can it?

my dad thinks for some reason the oil wasn't flowing and it caused a bearing to flip.

jj71787

Ok the weather is finally getting nicer and I'm going to check the bearings this weekend hopefully. My dad was telling me even if we replace the bearings still a possibility I have bent the crank I think he said

jj71787

I went out there today it was nice and it was me and my dad. we tried to remove the exhaust to remove the oil pan. 2 of the bolts broke off and another was stripped and the exhaust wont budge.

supercharged024

Well, to be honest if you have a rod bearing that's knocking you're more than likely going to have to do a lot more than just replace those. If it's spun the bearing then that rod really needs to be resized which means you need to pull the piston/rod assembly out of the engine and take it to a machine shop. This of course means puliing the motor out. To be honest, if you have damage I'd just get a good used motor. You can use one from a front drive car they are the same with the exception of the external accessories. The basic long block is the same for a seriesII 3800 whether it's front or rear drive. The oil filter adapter on the pump is different as well as the belt system, motor mounts, flexplate, and other brackets, intake and exhaust manifolds so finding a good engine isn't that difficult so don't let the guy at the salvage yard give you an explanation that it won't fit and it has to come from an fbody. Set them side by side and you'll see what needs to be swapped over.

L.dookie

if it still cranks over i highly doubt you bent the crank. i'm a lt1 guy, so i dont know what kinda valve train these have, if you spun a cam bearing, it's not as easy as just dropping the pan. did you crank it with the valve cover off to see if the everything is moving as it should? does it even crank?