The oil light means stop the engine immediately to prevent major damage. It is related to oil presssure, not level. Some possible causes include a problem with the oil pump itself not developing enough pressure, or something inside the engine has excessive leakage. Most common would be a "spun" crankshaft bearing or connecting rod beaing. Once something causes the pressure to be low, other parts will fail in a few seconds.
The valve train components include parts that fill with pressurized oil to take up the freeplay in the system to make it quiet. You are most likely hearing those parts rattle from the lack of oil pressure. You will need a professional opinion to be certain, but most likely you will need a used engine or yours will need to be rebuilt after the initial cause of the failure is found. In rare cases, the oil has to circulate through all the passages to get to the critical places first before getting to the internal leak. Sometimes that will minimize the damage and worn bearings can be replaced without rebuilding the entire engine.
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Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 AT 6:19 PM