1999 Grand am pon

[scott198910]

After the cold hit last night I turned my car on and it starts to shake a lot, also white smoke so I drove it to work while driving it takes forever to pick up speed and jumps speeds on rpm while shaking a lot and then I got off work and now its so hard to turn the wheel now(I put in steering fluid) and still shakes badly. I smelt burning kinda before work and I no I'm due for oil change so I just put oil in atm bcuz I have no time to take it any where atm since I work to full time jobs. Also the Trac off light is on and my service engine light is blinking. Any. Help will be nice soon I gotta walk to work tomorrow morning so cold.

[Tech II]

You have some major problems here....

A major one, is the blinking check engine light....that means you have a serious misfire.....

[MikeCStig]

I'm sorry to say, a misfire may only be the beginning of the problem(s) with your car. The burning smell and white smoke are potential indicators of a blown head gasket. Having been through one of these myself, I know that it's quite a task. The parts needed for this usually aren't that expensive, but the labor is another story. If you were to do it yourself (warning: it's not easy) you'd save a lot of money, but if you pay a shop to do the job, it can get pretty expensive.
Another concern I would have is how long has it been since your last oil change? Running an engine on overused oil can cause some serious damage too.