So, I have had the SL1 "traded off" for six months now and it's never left my property, and I considered buying it back since I'm sick of dealing with my Suzuki due to the crap with the mechanic... The only issue is the engine damage that makes it unsafe to drive for any significant distance... As far as I see, I have three options...

1: try and repair the SOHC that is in the car... It only knocks under load at above about 2000 RPM, at idle it sounds fine... I would try to drop the oil pan, replace the bearings while the engine is still in, and then run a thicker oil(15w-40 in winter, 20w-50 in summer)to try and take up any gap in the bearings

2: find another SOHC engine to swap into the car, same year to try and minimize compatibility issues...

3: find a DOHC engine to use in the car, I assume I need to find a same year engine and PCM... Is that plug and play and compatible with the auto from the SOHC?

 

I personally would try to replace the rod and crank bearings and put in a new oil pump and see what happens. If you don't want to do that, find another SOHC to put in. The swap to the DOHC will probably be a pain in the butt and not really worth the money and time it will cost you.

 

The engine has fine oil pressure now, except for about five seconds after startup if the car sits for a couple weeks or so... I plan on cleaning the pickup screen, but not on replacing the pump...

 

Well, it's your car, but since you're going to be that far into it, what's a couple more bolts to remove?

 

It's not so much the bolts as the cost of the oil pump... I figured it to still be fine due to it having oil pressure now, or would I be wrong?

 

I don't know how many miles you have on your car. All I'm saying is preventative maintenance is key to making one last longer. I realize that money is tight for everyone today (except politicians) but just think it would be worth it.

 

An engine that knocks and you are considering throwing parts at it before you know why it knocks?
Why?
Knowing nothing other than reading it knocks says there is excessive wear OR very low oil pressure some where.
In any case knocking generally means once it starts doing it something is toast.
No gauge makes it hard to diagnose anything really.
An inexpensive aftermarket oil pressure gauge should be used as a diagnostic tool to find out what is going on with the oil pressure rather than guessing.
And pulling the pan for a physical look makes good sense before purchasing bearings and such.

I can not see an oil pump being "The" problem, it is a rare happening.
Worn out due to excessive miles though can be. What is the miles.
If the crank shaft is not damaged causing the knock, replacement bearings might buy time.
Unfortunately due to age, finding a good singe over head cam engine might be a problem
It is a darned if you do and darned if you don't quandary.

 

The engine has 95,236 miles and I know why it it knocking... On New Year's Eve, I spun a bearing... My wife didn't check the oil, and earlier that day the low oil light come on(but we didn't know at that point that it was low oil pressure), and I added nearly three quarts to the engine and the car was fine all day... I suspect that the pickup screen got clogged with some sort of dirt and it lost oil pressure while I was driving it... The light blinked like mad, and then the engine started surging and I realized what was happening and shut it off... It appeared locked up, but with the help of a new diesel Chevy and some jumper cables, the engine broke free and started, knocking really badly for about thirty seconds and then smoothing out... I'm sure that the crank suffered some damage as a result, but the thought is, that with fresh bearings and/or some considerably thicker oil, time could be bought to find another power train to swap into the car, ideally a DOHC/5speed...

 

If the knock is from a crank bearing, that is not good news for the crankshaft. I have never seen a bad bearing that didn't leave its mark on the crankshaft journal. But crankshafts are made from harder materials these days and I haven't seen a bad crankshaft in a while. Are you sure the knock is from a crank bearing?

I'm with you on leaving the oil pump alone unless the front seal is leaking. But after sitting up for so long, I would be concerned about rust on the timing chain.

Edit: You posted while I was looking something up. You might be able to get by with a crankshaft kit. That would be a reground crankshaft and matched, undersized bearings. Its been my experience that once you have spun a bearing, the crankshaft has to be reground.

 

I dont have any reason to think that the engine isn't knocking in its bottom end, and that means either a rod or main bearing... I'm leaning toward a rod bearing given that the engine idles smoothly with no knock until you rev the engine over 2000...and then the knock isn't terribly heavy sounding... It is definitely louder (for about five seconds) if I let the engine sit for a while, but I've started it a couple times in the five months it has been sitting... My plan isn't a total fix(crank kit) but to gain time to find an engine... Besides, doesn't the engine have to come out to replace the crank? If I take that one out, I would rather replace it with a known healthy engine at the same time...