was running great. all of a sudden tonite I started the truck and when it got warm it started to make a loud knocking sound. Really bad very loud. Does this mean the engine is gone?. When coming to a stop the RPM s went down low and the oil pressure went to Zero. It did not stall and I drove it home. I started it again in the drivway and again the very loud knocking sound. There are no check engine lights on and I tried to see if there were any codes and it says no codes found. The oil was checked and it is ok ,not low. Please help I have put so much money into this truck and if its the motor I am screwed. Any comments from some experienced members will be appriciated thanks. Its a 1996 S-10 blazer

 

Well unfortunately it sounds like your oil pump quit on you and you didnt catch it before you spun a bearing depending on how long you drove it knocking like that you may not have to replace the whole engine but with it knocking like you described and the oil pressure being at 0 i can safely say you are looking at bottom end repairs.

 

at the VERY least i would say that you have to pull the motor out, take off the oil pan and check ALL the rod bearings. there's only 6 of them. but you have already wiped out at least one. DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR!!! you dont want to do any more damage. otherwise you might have to replace the crank too. those are expensive. when the oil pressure dropped to zero, the first thing to lose oil is the crank shaft and the rods. since its already knocking badly, you dont want to drive it, otherwise you risk FAR more expensive damage. best advice, if you need to have the car, then you should find someone that can fix it and take payments, or buy another car and either junk that one, or part it out. sorry to give the bad news, but as of right now, the car is a 4000lbs lawn gnome.

 

anther thing, a blown out rod bearing or crankshaft bearing is NOT going to throw a check engine light on. there only sensor for that is the oil pressure gauge. you said that you check your oil and it looked fine. i dont doubt it. all the metal from the bearings sinks to the bottom of the oil pan. if you have doubts, drain your oil and you will see that your drain plug has a giant ball of fur on it, and you will have what looks like gold flake in the oil in the catch pan. again, sorry for the bad news, but dont drive it. its already broken and you dont want to cause an accident if things get worse with the motor.

 

the engine has to be removed in order to get to the bad parts? It cant be done from undernearth with the oil pan off? I dont know what I can do I really need the truck and cant afford to have it fixed. I will have to try to get it done myself. I finally just got a job after 12 months of no work and now I cant even get to work. Guess I will have to walk until its fixed. I cant afford to loose my house too. thanks for all the help and knowledge.

 

it really needs to come out.

 

Yep you if you live near a lake you might as welll make a reef out of it.That engine is toast.The description is what mine sounded like when I bought it..You could hear the engine knocking a block away.

 

yeah, the motor has to come out. the amount of things that you would need to do/check, is far too much to manage with the motor still in the truck. plus, you wouldnt want to try and work on it in the truck because it would be dripping oil on you the whole time...

 

Your post does not say if you are mechanically minded or not. but makes not difference. I had to have my engine rebuilt in a 97 Jimmy that I had bought 6 months earlier. This was in 2007/08. I had the same problem, engine knocking, I could not afford to take to a shop. I had to replace the main bearings, as well as the cam shaft, and since engine was apart, I replaced the oil pump. When I buy a vehicle, new or used, I always buy the Haynes or Chilton manual. These books can take you throught it. In the past I could do minor repairs, but nothing major like this. Yes you need an engine hoist and engine stand, maybe a friend has one.
And to top it all off I was doing it in the winter in one of those canvas garages. Part way thru rebuild had a bout of cancer, got thru it and finished the engine, and it is still my main vehicle. So don't say can't, because you can do a rebuild, just make sure you follow the directions in manual or with parts. Good luck

 

With us here to help and a good manual you should be able to tackle this. There are a lot of tips and tricks to getting the engine out that we know and the manuals dont. So dont be afraid to ask questions.