Bad oil pump or ? Any advice please.?

I have an 87 chevy suburban 454 2wd. It does have an oil leak from the rear main seal but don't have money to get it fixed right now. Been good at putting oil in. Yesterday started making a really loud noise. Started after accelerating. Checked oil was 3 quarts low so added to fill and still making noise. Truck drives fine just the loud noise. Was told by someone not really all that machanically inclined it was the oil pump. My gauge doesn't work hasn't for roughly a year. Any imput? Please no rude coments about the leak, I am a mom to 4 and a full time student trying to make ends meet and a 400.00 fix istn' possible till January.Bad oil pump or ? Any advice please.?
Is a $4,000 fix possible? 3 quarts low, no gauge...You're going to trash what's left of the engine. Oil pumps aren't optional items.Bad oil pump or ? Any advice please.?
My guess is when you ran low on oil, you spun either a rod or a main bearing. Oil pumps normally don't make any noise. It is going to take a rebuild or a new short block. Not cheap either way, being a 454. You can probably find someone who will install a small block in your Suburban in exchange for the 454. I've done this myself, coming out with a real nice 396 that needed just a crank and bearings. You will also get better gas mileage with the small block, and it is an easy swap.
Perhaps the oil pressure releif valve got a peice of crap stuck in it its a ball with a spring in it which relieves excess oil pressure.Don't drive it with no oil pressure the motor will be junk in a short amount of time.
well if it was the oil pump, no oil would be getting up to the top part of the engine, but if its leaking oil that bad with a busted rear seal, its not safe to drive, it could catch on fire
PROBALLY SPUN A BEARING, NOT GOING TO BE A CHEAP FIX, THE LONGER YOU DRIVE IT THE WORSE IT WILL GET, IT WILL BREAK DOWN ON YOU SOON.