2003 Camry 4 cyl sudden loss oil pressure, now engine knock

[FINMAN911]

I have a 2003 Camry 4 cyl. with 160,000 miles. The other day I had a sudden loss of oil pressure when the engine oil was up to the full mark on the oil dipstick. The car was parked and sat for about 2 weeks before I could check it out.

The engine now has a knock at about 1800 RPM, however the oil pressure is fine now when the engine is cold. I have only allowed it to idle while watching to make sure the oil pressure light is off.

Questions: What caused the sudden oil pressure loss, since it has sufficient oil pressure now??

If the knock is a rod bearing, can I change it in the car? I pulled the oil pan and there is small amount of material that appears to be bearing material. What is the gear driven unit directly above the oil pan? I see two shafts inline with the engine and it appears to be gear driven. If I pull the eight tork style bolts and remove this gear driven unit is it critical to be synced with the motor. I have looked in the repair manual and it does not show that unit.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to get to the rods, however I can't seem to access them through the oil pan with out removing the other unit that does not show up in the repair manual.

Finman911

[gdanaher]

I can't answer all of your questions but here goes---you probably sucked up some sludge that clogged the oil tube in the pan, at least for a time. It doesn't take long to ruin an engine. The oil can be full to the line but if it is gooped up down there and won't go through the tube, well, it isn't being oiled. Yes, you probably burned up a rod bearing but with 160k miles, all of the rod bearings and main bearings were suspect even before this happened. No, you can't replace a rod bearing without pulling the head. If the rod bearing is shot, then the crank journal is likely scored as well and will need to be replaced or reground to an undersize. The short of it is that you need to find a decent junk yard engine to swap out. Sorry about that. As for the rest of the questions, they are moot.