98 GTP Im Stumped

Ok so this is gonna be a long post but it would probably be good to say everything that is happening so nothing is left out. Last week I went to a poker party and played for about 3 hours. I went to leave and started my car up, put my seat-belt on and looked up to see all my gauges on. The car stalled out. I tried starting it and all I got when I turned the key was a single click noise. All my interior lights were on and everything else worked so the battery wasn't dead. A couple of my friends threw a set of jumper cables on it and let it charge for about 10-15mins. I tried starting the car and the same thing, just one click noise. We then tapped on the starter and still nothing. I called a tow truck and went to Napa because the voltmeter was reading about 9-10 volts when not trying to start it and dropped to 5-5.5v when cranking. I took my battery back to them that I purchased in Feb. 2010 and warrantied it for another one. I came home and put the new battery in and it took a couple of minutes cranking the car but it started up and ran fine up until yesterday(ran good for about a week). I was driving down the highway going about 70 and my car was not downshifting (sitting at about 3000rpm) so I put it into third and drove for a minute and then I put it back into overdrive and it revved up to about 3500rpm and then stalled out. I made it to the shoulder and tried starting it and it rolled over a couple of times really slow and then went back to the single click noise. I still had all of my interior lights and everything so I knew it shouldn't be the battery again. After another tow truck ride home I took off the alternator and took it to Autozone and had them test it. Everything came back fine so now I am stuck at square one again. If anyone can think of anything, please help me....

Welcome to AF.

Whats the Voltage read on your battery?

Have you checked your cables for corrosion? Make sure you remove the covers on the ends of the cables that connect to the battery.

The voltage was at 12 when I checked it on the battery. I left the battery charger on it all night to make sure the battery was fully charged. I did pick up some new posts to put on today. I will post back after I put the alternator back on and put the posts on.

Ok I put the alternator on and changed the battery posts and tried starting the car again and it just made the single click noise again. The dash lights went dim while trying to start it but nothing but the single click. Not sure where to go next on this one. Any ideas?

I would bet you need a starter.

When you installed the battery, did you seperate the two positive cables that connect to the battery to check for corrosion between?

Yep, I made sure they were all cleaned off. The only thing that gets me is that what would cause the car to stall going down the highway at 70mph?

The other things I would check are the resistance in the battery cables, and check the resistance between the engine and frame. If that value is high, you may have a corroded or broken engine ground strap. I have seen in the past where if a starter is dead shorted, it can cause a parasitic draw on the electrical system that can draw it down to the point of stalling.

Thanks for the help. The only other thing that is making me wonder now is that I have a Viper security/remote start installed on the car and it has the starter kill option. I am in the process of hooking the yellow ignition wires back together to see if that is the problem. If that doesnt help I am gonna head to Autozone and pick up a new set of battery cables and give that a try. Thanks again for all the help and I will keep updating with what I have tried and what has worked/not worked...

Just for sake of arguement before you toss any money at it, put a ratchet on the crank pulley and see if you can turn the motor over by hand.

Just for sake of arguement before you toss any money at it, put a ratchet on the crank pulley and see if you can turn the motor over by hand.

Yup, agreed!

So here is the update. My uncle came over with his remote start kit and hooked it up to the starter. It still made the single click but he said that the starter was trying to engage but never did. He said it was making the starter move like there was a loose bolt on it so he checked them and they were tightened down. We then pulled the starter off and he tried cranking the motor by hand but could only get it to move slightly. He said it could be a seized bearing or piston problem. Is that going to require me to get a new engine if that is the problem? If there is anything else you can think of please let me know as I dont have a lot of money to throw into the car right now as I am laid off. Thanks again for the help.

try taking both serp belts off to see if it's a locked up belt driven accessory causing the engine to not roll over. If it still won't roll over with the belts off, then it's a serious engine issue (main or rod bearing, hydrolocked cylinder, etc...).

Then remove the spark plugs and try and turn it over. Maybe one of your cylinders filled with coolant. Air can compress, water cannot. If you filled a cylinder you may get away with just replacing the upper intake manifold and the upper and lower intake gaskets. But its also possible you bent a connecting rod. Which would is getting a little on the costly side.

I am in need of a little help as I have never cranked the engine over by hand. I couldnt see how my uncle was doing it but I also heard that the plugs need to be out when hand cranking to release compression? I guess I need a little walkthrough as to where the bolt is located on the 3.8l engine and how far I should turn it. Thanks again for your help as I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to this.

Just a couple more things. I checked the oil and it was at the full mark. Cant believe I didnt think about this until now but over the past couple of months I have noticed a smell of antifreeze after the car heats up and I shut it off. I have been checking the level but have not found a leak or had any antifreeze on the driveway. Hopefully this will narrow down the possibilities. Thanks again

Have you tried removing the serp belts and then trying to start the car? This would indicate a locked up belt driven accessory as the cause of the engine not turning over. If it still wont turn over, take the plugs out and try again. If you see coolant shoot out one of the plug holes, but the engine rolls over, this indicates you hydrolocked the engine either due to an intake gasket failure or blown head gasket/cracked head. To turn the engine over by hand, put a socket and breaker bar on the center bolt of the harmonic balancer, and turn it clockwise only. With the plugs out and the belts off, the engine should roll over with very little effort.

I have tomorrow off and am gonna work on taking the serp belts off and trying to hand crank. I just went outside and looked at the old stock starter and I tried to spin the gear through the hole and it doesnt move either way. I also am looking online on AZs website ( http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Gold-Duralast-Starter/1998-Pontiac-Grand-Prix/_/N-jaczrZ93xl9?counter=0&filterByKeyWord=starter&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=352108_43769_0_ ) and can see the teeth showing. On my starter it looks as if the teeth are in the housing. Should I be able to turn the starter teeth with my hand in one way or the other or no? Also about the belt driven accessory being locked up...I had to disconnect the AC Compressor a few months ago as it was throwing sparks when turning. I did notice a grinding noise a week or so before all of this happened coming from the compressor. Funny how I think of important things the more I worry about it. Thanks again...

I think you may have found your problem. I would bet your A/C compressor is locked up.

I went out today and took both of the belts off but I couldnt get a socket on it as there wasnt any room for me to get it on. I pulled the front three plugs out and tried to turn it by hand. It moved a little and I mean a little bit by hand. I am going to try and find someone with something that will fit it and give it another go. Also the AC compressor wouldnt move by hand when I first tried. I grabbed a crowbar and pushed down on it and it came loose after a good push. Now I can turn that freely by hand. I did notice that there were metal shavings that looked magnetized to the clutch part. Hopefully this helps the diagnosis. Thanks again.

no problem, keep us updated as to what you find. Hopefully that's all it is. An A/C compressor isn't cheap by any means, nor is an intake job if you need it, but it's a lot less than a new engine.

Now with the front 3 plugs pulled should I be able to crank it with my hands or am I going to need a wrench to actually see?

You have to put a socket and breaker bar on the crank pulley. You may be able to get at it through the passenger side fender.

Also do you have any mods to your car? Ie smaller pulley?

Only thing I have on the car is a Borla exhaust and a K&N air filter...

Well guys I had to come back to say thanks for the help and ideas but I ended up having to put a new engine in the car. I had it taken to my Uncles house and he pulled the oil pan off and found about 2 handfuls of metal in the bottom. Turns out that 5 out of 6 bearings melted off. My uncle told me that he doesnt know how it ran for so long. The only time it overheated was over a year ago and it has ran fine up until it quit starting. Only had 150k on the old engine but I got a used one with 120k for a good price. Again thanks for all of your replies and I hope to stick around here more and get to know everyone