suzuki-guy

whats up with you and torque convertors? every solution you have is a torque convertor!! LOL JK i change my oil filter every 3000 milesi use a k&n oil filter!! SOunds like you oil pump you do not need to raie the engine

MDTAHOE

Lower oil pressure CAN be caused initially by a bad pump. However once a engine is knocking it is too late. If rod bearing clearance is too great it will also cause low oil pressure. You can check a couple rod and main bearings when doing the pump but if they are worn the pump will not fix the problem

jherkel

well im sure everything on it is worn. it was a work truck for a construction company. but it still runs good and just recently started doing this. the spark plugs are good. the valves look good. i just changed the fuel filter. the oil filter i changed about 4 months ago. i know it burns oil because its just worn. i dont hear anything someing from my block or pistons but i do hear all the clacking coming from the valves. i also thought about a clog might be all the sudden stoping the flow of the oil causing the pressure to go down. i am going to go ahead and buy a new oil pump and switch it out. as well as a new oil filter and new oil. im also going to get some gumout or something to get the sludge out all at the same time. i must say i have not heard of a torque converter. what would i be looking for? and how would i know if its bad?

p.s. on another note my transfer case pops when i drive it in 4x4. someone said it could be a stripped pinon gear. any advice?

Thanks for all the help by the way, to everyone.

suzuki-guy

Tear your diff off and look at ring and pinion for abnormal wear and metal shavings.

Thegen58

Any luck on finding the problem? It definately sounds like an oil pump/pressure issue to me too. If you dont have enough oil pressure (which by the way the stock gauges are not usually that accurate) you may be getting enough pressure to the bottom of the engine but not to the top end, and driving it like that is just causing more damage to it. I would do what suzuki guy said check for compression leaks. As far as it burning oil this could be from a lack of oil to the top end for extended periods of time. Is this a loud knock? I would be willing to bet its lifters wich no one has mentioned can make a knocking sound from inside your valve covers and is often caused by lack of oil or bad oil. I would not drive the truck anymore until you find out exactly whats wrong if it was me. In my own experiences with a chevy truck you will have to lift the engine slightly with a cherry picker after loosening the motor mounts on 2wd trucks only to drop the pan, this is due to a cross support that goes from one side of the frame to the other. I have never had a problem dropping a pan on a 4wd chevy though. Just my 2cents based on a few personall experiences though. good luck