Rod Knock

99 Suburban K1500 5.7 liter and 140,000 miles. Now for a little background. For several years my oil pressure has seemed low but have been told by 2 different shops that my gauge is wrong and the pressure is within spec. A couple of months ago the car quite on my wife and our mechanic said the distributor gear went out and they replaced the gear (no cause for failure found). Now, we were driving to see our daughter and were about an hour from home and it felt like the engine was missing (here we go again). Within about 10 minutes the motor quite. We towed it back to our mechanic and they said the distributer had to be replaced (again no cause for failure found). The big problem is the mechanic drove the vehicle and said there is a "rod knock" (it wasn't there before). I was pretty pissed off and drove to the mechanic and drove the suburban home. When the vehicle was cold it didn't knock but as it warmed up the knock appeared and got worse as I drove. Now for the question, is it possible for the failed distributor and rod knock to be related? I am not a mechanic (obviously) but is there anything else I should check or have checked? Sorry for the rant.

Rod nock is not good at all...Internal component failure. If the distributor gear was damaged not once but twice, there is something wrong with camshaft. Could also explain the rod knock - The Distributor goes as far down as the oil pump and hooks up with it, along with the gear on the shaft that meshes with the gear on the cam.

99 Suburban K1500 5.7 liter and 140,000 miles. Now for a little background. For several years my oil pressure has seemed low but have been told by 2 different shops that my gauge is wrong and the pressure is within spec. A couple of months ago the car quite on my wife and our mechanic said the distributor gear went out and they replaced the gear (no cause for failure found). Now, we were driving to see our daughter and were about an hour from home and it felt like the engine was missing (here we go again). Within about 10 minutes the motor quite. We towed it back to our mechanic and they said the distributer had to be replaced (again no cause for failure found). The big problem is the mechanic drove the vehicle and said there is a "rod knock" (it wasn't there before). I was pretty pissed off and drove to the mechanic and drove the suburban home. When the vehicle was cold it didn't knock but as it warmed up the knock appeared and got worse as I drove. Now for the question, is it possible for the failed distributor and rod knock to be related? I am not a mechanic (obviously) but is there anything else I should check or have checked? Sorry for the rant.


your issue may indeed be the oil pump..if the oil pump is binding up this will wear out the dist gear and the oil pressure low also. the use of a pressure guage should be used to confirm correct pressures,,

at idle 40 psi ..10-20psi or less is too low..

also what was the replacement gear made of ..OEM or some plastic from china..?

your engine also has distributor bearing issues around 170,ooomiles..

any dtc failure codes ?

Rod nock is not good at all...Internal component failure. If the distributor gear was damaged not once but twice, there is something wrong with camshaft. Could also explain the rod knock - The Distributor goes as far down as the oil pump and hooks up with it, along with the gear on the shaft that meshes with the gear on the cam.
My mechanic said he checked the cam with a borescope and that it looked fine but I would assume that you can't tell much that way.
your issue may indeed be the oil pump..if the oil pump is binding up this will wear out the dist gear and the oil pressure low also. the use of a pressure guage should be used to confirm correct pressures,,

at idle 40 psi ..10-20psi or less is too low..

also what was the replacement gear made of ..OEM or some plastic from china..?

your engine also has distributor bearing issues around 170,ooomiles..

any dtc failure codes ?

Mechanic stated when they checked the oil pressure at several RPM's that it was within manufacturer spec. Couldn't say if the gear is OEM or from China. Originally (when the gear failed months ago) it did have a code P1345 (camshaft to crankshaft position) but nothing since then.

My mechanic said he checked the cam with a borescope and that it looked fine but I would assume that you can't tell much that way.


Mechanic stated when they checked the oil pressure at several RPM's that it was within manufacturer spec. Couldn't say if the gear is OEM or from China. Originally (when the gear failed months ago) it did have a code P1345 (camshaft to crankshaft position) but nothing since then.


find out what part he installed . get part number. get the pressure readings of the oil..

some believe over 10psi in with in spec..this 10 psi idle will damage you engine..

oil lubricates the engine all know that...oil also cools the engine. low pressure will cause more heat , using non synthetic this then reduces the life of lubricating ability , of the oil