I have an 03 cavalier with the ecotec. Bought new off the lot in late 02. More problems with this car than any i've owned. 53k miles.

A few days ago the valve train started making noise but no warning lights came on. I pulled the car in the garage to check it out. I put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on and it shows very low, damn near no oil pressure. Just enough to keep the bottom end together.

Pulled the oil pan and checked out the pickup/ strainer. No clogs. I did find a rather large metal shaving caught inside the trap.

At this point it is hard to say if this is from machining or mechanical failure. Given the track history of this car i can't guess either way.

Here is a list of my PO's about this car.

< 300 miles. Random fuses blown. -Put new fuses in (never found the problem)
< 1k miles. Low brake fluid.
< 5k miles No brake lights - Factory recalled light socket, changed out - still has the problem
< 15k miles alot of noise from the front end, assumed to be supspension. Coulnt not find problem
< 20k miles very bad engine miss, ignition module failed
< 25k miles, catytic converter failure, downstream o2 failure
< 30k miles, manual transmission noise - Found to be no oil. No oil leaks anywhere on the car.
< 40 miles, still alot of front end noise, Bad ball joints, wheel bearings, suspensions bushings.
< 50k miles, more fron end noise, New struts.
<54k miles, No/ low oil pressure. Still looking into it.

Even though i've had all these problems i still believe the 03+ cavalier is in general a very well engineered car. I just so happens that my car was built in Ohio on a thursday but some jack-off and the jack off tendancies have rolled down the line through QC, the dealer and now i'm stuck with it.

Looking for the oil pump now.

 

Turns out the oil filter was collapsed. I believe the place that was suppose to be changing the oil was not changing the filter. Can't prove a thing though so i will change my own oil again. This is what happens when you give your trust away. I was trying to put a little money back into the local economy- figured anyone can change oil. And for all those companies who hide behind the legal bull of "You need to tell us to change the oil" I hope they go out of business.

One thing about this whole deal is that the ecotec complains very quickly when the top end loses oil. I popped a few cam caps to check for premature wear. I couldnt find anything. As for the peice of metal in the oil pick up tube, i believe it to be left over from machining.

This is just a heads up incase anyone runs into the same problem.