v-6 engine knocking

Take it to a shop now... Knocking is never a good things and usually a bad thing... Diagnosing a sound over the internet is difficult and if it's something like rod tap, you could be out a motor by the time we get it narrowed down. Only other thing I can think right now, is from how you approached the problem... 'Looked down the oil cap'... My guess is that you're not very experienced working on cars and I ask this only out of experience in the past, and I mean no offense... When was the last time you change your oil? Topping the oil off is not the same. Once again if you know about regular maintenance great and sorry for the slightly offensive question, but unfortunately I've known more than one person to never change their oil.

Chances are you killed it, knocking is never good. Hopefully the oil has been changed regularly, if oil lievel is good though, you may have had an oil pump failure. Good luck, but it does not sound promising.

a knock is a knock, she is done. cheaper to get engine from wreckers than to reebuild.

Umm... really?!? A full rebuild maybe, but until something breaks you can't say that. It could be something relatively small and easy to fix...Valve adjustment, rod bearing, or simple as re-torquing a rod cap. You don't need to pull a motor or do a full tear down for any of those, and certainly cost less than buying a new motor (Of unknown condition) and paying to have it put in. It's always better to diagnose before you make a decision... You know that whole look before you leap thing.... Especially considering many mechanics will diagnose the problem without charge to give you an estimate of repairs. If that is more than the cost of a new motor and all the strings attached to a new motor, only then do you go try and find one at a salvage yard...

incorrect valve lash is a click, not a knock. and i do not pay to install an engine, i do it myself. as for an alero, have you ever been under one? you have to pull the engine to remove the pan, and you do have to yank the engine to replace a rod bearing, ive pulled and fixed many an engine, and while it may be possible to fix something without pulling it, the small amount of room GM gives you in an engine bay makes it a royal prick.

and on neweer engines, they have low tolerances for that sort of thing, and once one major thing like that goes, its a chain reaction much of the time. once you have blown the cash to get it fixed (if you don't do it yourself) chances are something else will go. i am quite qualified on this subject, i hold an A-Class mechanics liscence.

I understand what you're saying, but I'm trying to say always check it first... YOU may be able to replace your own motor, but what about the guy down the street. Most people don't have the tooling or knowledge. And I'll be honest I'm always against salvage engines as the little experience I have with them is never good, better if you're replacing an engine is to get a rebuilt long block, but that's my opinion... I agree with you that a knock is never good, but I will argue that you should have it looked at before you make a decision...

True True. I have had bad experience with salvage yards, but i am lucky enough to find one that documents everything and can trust. I generally work with people with a low budget in mind, so a long block is agreeably the best way the go, not always the most affordable. Stethscope on the block can check to see if it is a rod, but when it is an Alero, IF it IS the rod, start looking for another engine while you baby that car and drive that engine to the ground.

You got several replies but the best replies was from James Cronin. He is totally right in seeking a low mile salvage engine and replace the unit as a whole. There is one other option. Trade it! Evaluate your finances and determine what you have in the car. Right now, it's totally a buyers market. You may come out better by using it as trade in on a better vehicle? That's something you'd need to decide after you did the math and determine which is the lesser of the two evils.

the best way to go on this is with out a doubt take the car to a dealership have it looked at and diaged then i recommend finding some one to replace the motor a reman jasper engine is fairly cheap if it will need a motor but i could be a bad oil pump or somthing else small also newer motors are not built with a low tolarance of space like mentioned above i have personally saw a car ran on a rack at my dealership for 15 minutes with no oil it just depends on how many miles the veichle has on it to determine the tolorance on space

hear hear

Car is almost ten years old, get rid of it. Find something else. Don't spend money on this car a similiar one in good condition will cost you less than a motor for your.