Ok, let me set up this scenario for you all and let me know what you think it could be before I take it to Chevy to check it out..
1998 Z28 w/ 96,500 miles. Oil changed every 3000 and not due changed again until 97,000 miles. 4400 stall, bolt ons, 4.10 gears. Daily driven, WOT 1-2x a day max.

I left work today and everything was fine. I was stopped at the ATM and my car did had some weird idling issues. It went from 1000 to 500, then to 1200, then to 300 and it wanted to die, but then it revved back up to normal. Oil pressure gauge reads fine, no lights on, etc. I had an idling problem right after I put my headers, stall and intake on and it was because it was running very rich. I figured that is what it could be. I drove to make a payment about 20 miles away and the only unusual thing was that my stall wouldn't lock up at the normal speed. Usually, it locks up at 40-ish but I had to creeep up to 75mph for it to lock up. It is a Fuddle by the way, and the first thing I thought of were all the horror stories on here I have heard.

Anyways, I get ready to leave the furniture store and I hear a slight knocking. I have to make it home to I baby her all the way home. She locked up at normal speeds on the highway but the creep up to 40mph was very loud (knocking). I had to keep my foot on the gas at the 3-4 stop lights/signs on the way home because she wanted to die. I pulled into my driveway-she dies and I roll into my spot.

I got the flashlight out and popped the hood. My oil gets changed religiously every 3k miles but I figured what the hell, I'll check it.

EMPTY! Once I wiped the dipstick and put it back in it didn't even register a level. I had 2 quarts in my garage and put them in. It registered to the fill line, so it wasn't completely empty, but it had 1-2qts total. It is still knocking. So...what could this be?
My first guess is a connecting rod but I am praying that it isn't. Granted, it is an excuse to buy a 402, I'm just not financially set to do that right now. So, anyone with knowledge/experience chime in. Please info only, I do not need simply, "You're screwed" or "it sounds like you blew your engine". It's going to Chevy on Tuesday but I would like to know what to expect.

Thanks

 

You either spun a bearing real bad or threw a rod. It does sound like you will need a rebuild. Were did the oil go that you lost in the first place? That was probably the root of the problem and once you lost enough oil to cause starvation the internals started to break.

 

Is the bottom of ur car covered in oil?

 

i think you better be prepared for the worst.i would change the oil myself and look in the oil and drain plug for shavings.if you find any is probably a spun bearing.

 

I had the same symptoms on a Toyota I rebuilt the motor on. You could start it up but had to keep giving it gas and it had the death knock. It spun two rod bearings and I guess someone had been driving it like that for a while as the rod and the crank were blue for a good portion. Like slow trap said expect the worse cause it sounds like it is bad. I would follow his instructions and drain the oil. Drain it into a clean pan and remeber bearings are aluminum so a magnet will not work unless there is some real carnage. Look for luminum particals and if I were you I would not even take it to the dealer.

 

Well what would you all reccomend I do to test for all the possibilities?
The dealer seems like the best option because I'm a full time medical student and I manage at a restaraunt for 50hrs a week so I have some significant time constraints.
I just got a free 1987 honda hatchback with 1/4 million miles on it so at least I have a vehicle. Why wouldn't you bring it to the chevy shop?

 

Well one option would be to look up a company called Blackstone labs. They do oil analysis and will tell you if you have excessive metals in your oil. It is 20 bucks and I sent in an analysis of my Tahoe's oil and they told me I had a coolant leak leading to premature bearing failure if it was not fixed. I fixed the problem with some GM block seal pellets and things are fine now. I had a neighbor call me over to check his daughters grand cherokee and he told me he checked the oil and it had nothing. He put some in a fired it up. It was knocking like a mother and I said shut it down. His brother came over and said the same thing. We both thought bearing cause it sounded nasty. Another friend of his worked for the chrysler dealership and came over and said it was the belt tensioner. They replaced it and it was gone. I have heard belt tensioners go and they did not sound like a rod knock but I guess it was really bad and a coincidence that the thing needed alot of oil. I would say do the oil sample since you have a back up car. Wait till you get it back and if it is not something internal then you can rule that out.

 

i had the same thing happen to me. i have a 98 firebird which had about 85k on it at the time and i had the same oil problem. come to show i had spun a bearing. all i had to do after i added more oil was run it and then check the dipstick which showed metal particles on it so i would try that first since that would be the easiest

 

If you spun a rod bearing and drove it like that for more than a couple of minutes, you won't need a lab to check for metal in the oil. You will see it from 10ft away. There will be a LOT of crap in your oil.

 

honestly if its at a point where you have to floor it to keep it running i wouldn't be suprised if you had a hole in the block by now and one less connecting rod by the time you pull it into the driveway.

if it starts knocking, a 100 dollar tow and 50 dollar diagnosis at a shop is way cheaper than a 2000+ dollar ls1 replacement ceremony.

 

Man the Chevy dealer is gonna just tell you it's toast after lookin at it for a day or 2 then try to hit your for a few grand for a new crate LS1 replacement. I'd just park it & cover it up. Drive the Honda around until you can put together a good motor. then your back in the Camaro & probably spent the same amount as you would have at the dealer, but have a fully forged & built your way motor.

Thats your best bet Mitchell. And what happened to the motor you have been workin on buildin for a long time now??

 

I agree with them

if you have to keep your foot in it to idle it and its making a knocking noise something is seriously wrong. if you didnt put a hole in your block consider yourself lucky, just hope you didnt damage the crank.