[talon2swords]

I believe I had this exact same problem on my 97 Lumina, 3.1L. Lost power totally and made very loud knocking noise.

I also replaced the lifters and LIM with metal aftermarket one. Yes, it also still had some lifter-knocking noise in it, although after time, it diminished tremendously and the engine totally recovered.

I never replaced the knock sensor (I might do that though-thanks), and it still runs good 10K+ miles later. I would guess if something was badly misaligned or improperly torqued, it would have bit the dust by now.

I think somehow the lifter(s) get starved of oil when the LIM goes bad, etc. I don't know what part gets "worn" but apparently it is possible to save the car when this happens, for an unknown period of time. I put some special "safe" sludge dissolver stuff in it as well. The engine still runs ok. I have a newer 99 model and it make a similar knocking (or ticking) noise although the engine is newer and tighter. I just drive them.