This week I heard a knocking and pinging coming from my engine so I stopped by my father-in-law's so we could check it out. We checked the oil level and found NOTHING!!!!! Now, I had small oil leaks when I first purchased it, and so I replaced the oil plug (even though the leak was coming from the engine itself) and then had the valve cover gaskets changed. That helped, but I did still notice that it went through oil faster than average. For some reason now, it its REALLY burning through it. So my questions are- what other repairs can I do to cut down on the oil consumption? Second, should I put in a new engine and if I do, will an engine from a Gen III fit in without too much trouble? Sorry about the long post!!!

Do a compression test to make sure all cylinders are 20 percent of each other. Your rings are most likly gone and need to be replaced.The loud knocking could indicate a spun bearing. Witch all and all you are going to be rebuilding the motor. I don't know about a gen3 motor swap i normally wouldnt swap in a differnt motor unless it has a dramatic diffrence in power and torque or just maybe torque like a diseal <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sounds like it smoked a rod bearing.... there is a ton of info around for engine swaps in these trucks.

Try a few google searches, and try the forum search here.

What engine do you have? And where are you located? I have a 2.6 I could sell, its got some miles but it runs great and has a weber and pace setter header on it. I'm in northern NY....

Edit: I see your location now, your a bit far LOL.

Try a local bone yard for a running replacement engine, your best bet IMHO...