So the engine died in my wife's sl1... I don't mean died as in stalled and won't restart, the engine is truly killed, will never run again... I was driving(accelerating at approx 2500 RPM), the oil light kicks on, blinks on and off a couple times, the engine loses power, i throw the trans in neutral and cut ignition trying to stem the damage, but was too late, I tried to crank it, nothing... No engine rotation at all... Is there any known problem with the single cam engine?

The engine oil was topped off literally less than 60 miles prior to the engine failure, and had been being used at roughly a quart every 500 miles or so...maybe less, I don't know...

 

Check your battery cables first. Have you tried rotating the engine by hand? I've never heard of one of these just locking up with no warning, but anything is possible.

 

Have you owned this car since new? Has it sat for six months or more not being used? How is the maintenance history?

I would suggest that you put a breaker bar on the crank pulley bolt and try to turn the engine, turn CW first, if it doesn't move, turn CCW. If it moves a little before stopping, and moves pretty easy and you find then that you can rock it back and forth through a small range, you have a broken timing chain.

If it won't move at all, then the pistons have been starved for oil for some time. That would be caused by a lot of sludge in the engine or a failed oil pump or a clogged oil filter. Any of which could be caused by neglected maintenance or a defective part, like a defective oil filter.

If the engine moves fine, then you probably have a battery problem, such as a broken internal connection or a blown fusible link.

 

I hooked a one tun up to the cars battery and finally got it to turn over, it will start, but runs with a nasty knock... It's definitely dead...

 

Not necessarily dead. A crank kit MIGHT solve the problem. Of course, if you have a bent rod, that's a different story. I'd yank the oil pan and check the main bearings and rod bearings before giving up on that engine.

 

I would imagine it would run rougher if a rod were bent... Basically it fired up knocking(but idling smoothly), with oil light on(oil level good), light went out and knock faded out for a while, oil light blinked a few times and then stayed on, knocking resumed, I moved the car a few meters for easier loading and shut engine off... Just for the sake of curiosity, i crank the engine, it fires up without hesitation, no knock... I shut it off promptly and started contemplating how to remedy the situation... I'm currently 260 miles from the car, so I can't go back and look to verify anything... A crank kit means a crank and new bearings, right? That means installing outside the car?

 

And if there is a problem with the oiling system that caused this issue, isn't the engine shot anyway, with the recent failure just re-occurring?

 

A crank kit includes a new crankshaft, main bearings, rod bearings and hopefully a new oil pan gasket and any other related gaskets you'd need. Sounds like you'd also need a new oil pump. Price the needed items at your local autoparts stores and make a decision. If your friend is that good of a mechanic, perhaps you could pay him to fix your car. I'm not sure if you'd have to pull the engine or not. It's been years since I've done this and the last time I did it was on a slant six Dodge. Done with the engine in the car.

 

It does sound like a spun bearing. That not only makes a knocking sound like a very large hammer, but it releases the oil pressure. Your oil pressure issue may be due to the bearings, it most often is.

 

I got a quote at $400 for a replacement engine with similar mileage and a four month warranty... I would rebuild the one from the car if possible as a spare... Maybe fix the oil consumption issue so prevalent in these engines... I heard its a simple and cheap fix...