oil light, terrible noise
 

I have a 98 camry 2.2 4 cyclinder with around 170xxx miles. i have just recently replaced timing belt and cam crank and oil pump seals about 3000 miles ago. I recently drove the car on a two hour drive and it was running as smooth as ever, normal temp, normal sound for whole drive. the next morning i started car, drove it less than a mile where it sat for about five minutes. upon starting the car again the oil light immediately came on and engine is making a terrible knocking noise. the noise however was not increasing in intensity as the motor revved. right when it happened as the motor was running i revved it up to about 2000 rpm and if anything the noise got quieter but as i said, did not speed up in frequency. it seems loudest right at idle. fearing the worst i have not run the motor any more than about one minute after the oil light came on. i am thinking I may have incorrectly re-installed the oil pump when changing the seals during the timing belt job. does this sound like a resonable cause for my symptoms>?

Assuming the oil pressure sender is OK (they can fail) the engine has less the 5 PSI oil pressure.

Did you do the work yourself?

Is the oil level OK, any oil leaking out the oil pump drive shaft seal?

Have you recently changed the oil filter?

Would not start the engine until you find the cause.

Typically oil pumps to not fail. Did you have a manual to repair and install the pump?

Yes, i did the work myself and i do have a manual, followed all steps and was very careful with all the work and reasembly.
Oil level in the crank is full, no leaks around pump or anywhere else down low, minor leakage around valve cover but nothing major.
changed filter at last oil change when i changed timing belt.
i too didn't think the oil pump could really go bad but i did see in another post where a member had said make sure the dots on the gears line up when putting it back in, if i re installed the gears backwards would it take 3000 miles for an issue to manifest? this is first on my list of things to check but i'd like to explore other options before i start disasembeling the whole timing system

The noise could be from lack of oil.

Make sure the oil filter is on tight and not leaking.

Did you change the filter right before the problem started.

Any possiblity the engine has a sludge issue, sludge can plug up the oil lines.

Doubt if reversing the gear would cause the pump to sieze up but can not state for sure. Is the timing belt OK, if the pump siezed the belt would be damaged.

Not sure if there is a quick fix given the oil pressure light came and then the noise.

If sludge is not a factor. Suggest you start pulling things off. Check the oil pump for smooth rotation, drop the pan and the oil intake tube.

The oil pump system has a pressure, might check this out also.