98 Malibu.... engine noise/cease running

Im cruising home in my 98 Malibu with 134k on it (all mine).
Anyways, all of the sudden the engine doesnt sound right. No metal grinding. No screeching. Just not right. And then the oil light shows up. Not good. So I kill the engine and coast off the side of the road and get towed home.

While up on the flatbed, I look under the engine and it looks a little "wet" under there. I checked the dipstick.. there's still oil in the pan. A little low, but not "add now" low.

It still turns over, but it doesn't sound right and soon dies after starting. So Im thinking its probably oil pump, any other ideas (besides figure out how to get it somewhere besides my driveway)?

the oil filter could have loosened up ,,,, or come off, the pick up for the oil pump could be clogged or dropped off, the oil pan on yours is cast aluminum and could be cracked from debri hittimg it. , a gasket leak. the oil sending unit could have loosened up ( sends the oil pressure to the pcm ) ?????
how did the oil look ? t

The oil was a little dark, but its literally just before 3000mi since last oil change (was on my list of things to get done friday).

Its just one of those things, it almost behaves fuel related (not all cylinders firing) but that wouldnt cause low oil pressure since the engine is still moving. And im really hesitent on pumping more $$$ in this car.

bummer,,, it could be anything. it might be worth $30 - $70 to find out what it is. Although you have to watch out for some dealers. While i was away my sisters car would not start she had it towed to the dealer. The dealer had this long list of what was wrong, came to $2000 + . She said she had to think about it. On her way out she had a "chance " meeting with the mechanic who offered to take the car off her hands for $500, like he was doing her a favor. I got back and told her get a tow truck and get your car. It turned out the battery terminal was corroded. oops kind of digressed there, sorry.

Well the verdict is in. Cam shaft broke. Ouch.
Hmmmm... lets see.

I can get a rebuild with 100k+ on it for $1k.
I new engine for $3.5k
Or send her to the junk pile and get a new car.....

Option 3 it is. The problem-mobile aint worth any more headaches.
And to have major engine failure dispite a great service record (only missed 1 oil change in 134k miles) is hideous. No more GMs for me. Blech.

bummer , what broke, the drive gear, bearing,, or it broke in half

Without pulling the whole thing apart it appears to be either the drive gear or a break a little further up because the last 2 cylinders arent firing and the oil pump isnt moving any oil. It can be restarted, but its an ugly sounding engine with 0 oil pressure. Preety sure it would last a solid 1-2 mins before totally siezing. Either way, its toast.

I have seen a couple with the camshaft broken..usually this is caused by a leaking intake gasket that is not repair promptly.
The coolant and oil mix, this causes the bearings to wear excessively and finally the bearing will sieze the camshaft. Because the camshaft is hollow, it will break into 2 pieces.

WHAT? The leaking IM can blow the camshafts out?

I have seen a couple with the camshaft broken..usually this is caused by a leaking intake gasket that is not repair promptly.
The coolant and oil mix, this causes the bearings to wear excessively and finally the bearing will sieze the camshaft. Because the camshaft is hollow, it will break into 2 pieces.

Funny you should mention that as at around 75k i noticed the engine was running a little off, and took it in and they found some sludge in the engine and i had them rebuild the engine as there was coolant in the engine. I never missed an oil change (ok I missed the 103k one), but no one ever said anything about coolant in the oil at any of those services. Glad to know the GM dealership was completely worthless. (never buying GM again)

When the IM gasket leaks coolant, it goes straight to the cam and washes the oil off. Then the bearings seize and snap the cam.. Seen it many many times.. It's not totally GM's fault and pulling the dipstick or oil cap every now and then can easily tell you when it's happening, just look for the brown/green sludge. Short trips can make it appear you have coolant in the oil, but it could be water caused by not thoroughly warming the oil.

A lot of it has to do with the death cool ( dex-cool ) or any OAT type coolant. Under certain conditions it can become caustic. I regularly email a mechanic that lives in the area that is seen on a nationally televised car show. He said they have never seen an intake manifold go bad on a Malibu or any OAT type coolant malfunctions on any of the thousands of cars the maintain. He went on to say that air in the system and using tap water to top off was to blame and causes the caustic condition. Yes I think it is part GMs fault, their sales ppl are still telling ppl that "...the coolanrt is 5 years or 100k miles" . Then you get ppl that never pop ther hood and check their oil or coolant, so i think it is 50 / 50 .
It is a shame you have given up on GM, we had a 98 Malibu till it was wrecked, I have a 2003 Impala , would have no other car. We just bought a 2006 Malibu Maxx.

My son sold his 92 chevy pick up and the man is still driving it about 350,000 and my sons 97 5.7L GMC has close to 300,000 on it only had a couple of tune ups and a pan gasket.Outside of brakes ball joint and spindle. He bought from it a termite man and he was amazed as his men went through 5 ford f-150.
A lot of his problem is he don't change oil. My son was a friend of the GM driver and he changed oil.

A lot of his problem is he don't change oil I use to work at a Chevrolet dealership. There was this tow co. that would tow for us. Those tow trucks get a lot of mileage, one driver changed his oil, the other just kept topping off for abot 50k miles. Then his truck broke. When they took the manifold off, there was all this thick oil, it looked like maybe 5 lbs of wheel bearing grease.

I had a customer before I retired who bought a new chevy 1ton he used for his hardwood floor business. It came in at 35,000 with bad rod bearings. I told him to have it towed to chevy for warranty which was denied as it was towed back a few days later. Chevy refused his warranty. I could understand why as he never changed his oil.
After installing a rebuilt long block if he came in for anything his oil was changed.
I talked to a friend with a ford and his warranty was denied for not changing oil.

Well like i said, despite only missing 1 3000 mile oil change over 134k miles, the engine still had its intake manifold gasket fail twice. That is just dreadful. I had an 88 Sunbird that died the same way at about 105k miles, but then my 90 Lumina ran like a dream until i traded (why oh why did I do that) it for my 98 Malibu. 3 Engines. 2 Major failures. The hallmark of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Buying a 4th and expecting long life would be insane. Other people may have different experiences, I am only relating mine.

I agree that this isn't the best GM engine. When I had my garage GM front wheel drive was my bread and butter. You won't make a living on the GM rear wheel drive vehicles.
If you do your own work I would get a machine shop to install new bearings and camshaft. Get it running and sell it. You may need a rebuilt short block or junkyard engine.
Without repairing it about all you can expect is junkyard price.