oil light prob along with leakage

[BRIAN R]

Hi...Here is the scenario. I am working with a 96 Sentra 1.6L/Auto.. all stock. There is 48K on the motor and it is original. My problem up until today was disappearing oil...I am most certain that is is not being burnt. Missing about a qt or so a week...Give or take al ittle. Ok...Today...I started the engine and about 2 min after the oil light went off...It decided to come back on...About 2 min after that...The valvetrain started making noises as if there was no oil in the engine....It would get progressively worse if I allowed the car to continue running. At this point I turned the motor off and checked the oil. Sure enough it was on the money(4 qts). So..I started the car back up and sure enough the problem duplicated itself. Anyone have any ideas??

Thanks..Brian

[NISTECH]

is you oil pan dented upward? you could be restricting the pick up screen. you definitly have no oil pressure if its making noise. the oil pump is located in your front cover and there is orings between the cover and the block. this could be a source of a leak but with your problem it would be obvious. if your oil pan is not dented you may have a bad oil pump. not very common though.as much oil as you say your going through you should see an obvious leak somewhere.