3.4L Intake Gasket Leaking Too Long, Now What?

My parents have let this problem go for quite a few miles, and now there is a loud knocking sound coming from the engine. I just drained the oil and a little bit of antifreeze came out along with a noticeable sparkle in the oil which I'm thinking is from the internals. I'm not sure exactly what the noise could be coming from, maybe a spun bearing? This Impala is an '01 and I'm thinking it might need a rebuild now. Would it be worth it does anyone know?

Best way here is another engine, either used or reman.

I have same problem.... a couple of months ago...on my way to work...I accelerated from a stop..and head a POP....well..I knew something was wrong..so I pulled over and check the oil....it was EMPTY....no I'm very good about changing my oil and my 2003 Chevy Impala ran like a charm, strong, fast and powerful....until this. Well I put in more oil...and immediately took it in for an oil change. I was not yet time..but close enough...anyway..since this incident I've had a ticking noice that seems to be coming from the heads and NOT the internal engine....pistons..or anything.....but again..its seems to be the heads...Valves...lifters or whatever...so...anyway,..I'm getting quotes of 1950.00 for full rebuild and reinstall....using different block...or 1750.00 to use my same block if possible. Well I also found a used engine for 900.00 and they would install it for 650.00.

So anyway,...I'm pretty ticked off about the ticking....I truly believe that the oil change place...did not put the drain plug back in properly and my oil drained out...but of course I cannot prove it....

Not sure what I'll do.....Dallas Tx is a large city and I think 3400 impala engines are plentiful...so I may just buy a used full engine and have someone install it....

Mike

Well I decided to pull the engine, and found that antifreeze had gotten through the gasket into the bottom end. The mains were all worn and repair wasn't really an option. I got another engine that came out of an '03 Grand Am. The swap kinda sucked because a few things were different, (fuel lines, strut mounts, and timing cover). Well after I hooked everything up the car wouldn't even turn over. Before I did the swap, everything worked perfectly, and now the odometer stays on, and the fans continually run after hooking the battery back up. Now I think I hooked a wire up wrong. Can someone take a picture of the starter and the wire down there so I can verify if i have everything hooked up? Again, it is a 2001 Impala 3.4l. Hopefully this doesnt boil down to a passlock problem.:banghead:

Update: I also hooked up my OBD2 scanner and received an (error) several times. I tried the 10 min key trick as well with no luck. I'm still hoping someone will post a picture of the front wiring because I really don't think the odometer and lights should be staying on after the key is shut to off and even pulled out.