Chevrolet Repair: Knocking in engine., piston slap, chevy cavalier

Question
I have a 1996 Chevy Cavalier,2.2 front wheel drive. I change the oil every 3,000 miles. I have 210,000 miles on it.I heard a knocking coming from the engine. I couldn't tell if it was the top end or bottom end. I removed the valve cover and cranked it up. I was getting no oil coming out the push rods.I figured it was the oil pump or the oil pump shaft broke. If I had spun a barring I should still get oil to the top of the head shouldn't I.

Answer
Hey,

 Not that you might see.  You should see it sprinkling up there with it running, not cranking.  If you ran it with the valve cover off you would see lots of oil splashing around.  The pump does not supply enough volume at cranking to put very much on the rockers.
 Besides, if your OPS is working and had no oil pressure the light would be on.  IF your knocking was a bearing the light would probably be on at idle if it was an oil fed bearing.
 I quite possibly could be piston slap or a wrist pin.  I have heard lots of those 2.2's make horrendous noises like that. Does the noise change under load or freewheeling in neutral?  If it gets alot worse under load it isn't good news but if it just changes frequency with rpm it may not be somehting you can do much about and won't fly apart right away.

Wayne


Wayne