Engine Trouble Help!!

I have a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am SE with 127,000 on it. The other day out of nowhere the engine kept stalling. Finally It started running again but this time there is a bad ticking noise under the hood. So I took it for a drive around the block and the car would barely move. The RPM's would go up to like 4,000 but the car wouldn't really move. I brought it down to the mechanic. He said the top part of the engine isn't getting much oil pressure. So he replaced the oil pump, cleaned out some holes in the engine and put a new filter and oil. He called me back and said it's still not getting oil pressure up top. I can't understand because I've changed the oil all the time, never had engine trouble with it. And the engine oil was full, right up to the top when this happened. Im wondering with the low oil pressure and the car barely moving, if it's even the same problem. It just happened way too fast!! Any suggestions??

Thanks,
Shane

This sounds pretty bad. It could be where the oil pump broke and you had no oil to the engine. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary prior to the problem starting (engine stalling)?

I knew someone who had a 93 GA which broke the cam shaft in half and the symptoms you describe is what he reported.

Sorry I can't point you directly to the problem but now you know it's gonna take a while to figure out. Start by fixing the oil pressure issue.

4000 rpm's and the car barely moves!? I think you may have more than just one issue with your car. Regardless of the oil pressure if the engine will rev that high and the car not boogie sounds like a tranny issue or a brake issue also.


Marc

I agree with Forkliftguy this sounds more like a tranny problem than an engine problem. If the engine runs but the car barely moves the tranny probably went south. Check the fluid level, if it is good take it to a shop and have them check it out.

I agree with Forkliftguy this sounds more like a tranny problem than an engine problem. If the engine runs but the car barely moves the tranny probably went south. Check the fluid level, if it is good take it to a shop and have them check it out.



i just had the same problem and the ticking noise was the injectors that got clogged.engine would bog down when i pressed the pedal to the floor and when tranny wanted to shift gears the rpm went way hi.it was the injectors

i just had the same problem and the ticking noise was the injectors that got clogged.engine would bog down when i pressed the pedal to the floor and when tranny wanted to shift gears the rpm went way hi.it was the injectors

Hi was just wondering if you brought it to the shop or if you figured it out yourself, i brought mine to the mechanic and no one could figure it out..My car sounds like a go kart.. and barely moves..How loud was the ticking noise in your car..cause mine is really loud and aggravating..thanks for the info tho!!

This sounds pretty bad. It could be where the oil pump broke and you had no oil to the engine. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary prior to the problem starting (engine stalling)?

I knew someone who had a 93 GA which broke the cam shaft in half and the symptoms you describe is what he reported.

Sorry I can't point you directly to the problem but now you know it's gonna take a while to figure out. Start by fixing the oil pressure issue.
We looked today, the top of the engine is getting oil we can see it..and the mechanic said he replaced the oil pump, and cleaned everything out..im ready to bring it to the junk yard after one more try at the mechanic, its ashame tho i spent over $3000 in repairs..thanks for ur help :)

hey man sorry to run with your thread but im having a very simular problem, I have a 95 G/A with a 2.3L dohc, one cold night it started ticking real bad, sounds like the lifters aren't pumping up, well I broke 2-100 psi oil pressure guages, figured the problem was too much oil pressure, changed the pressure regulator block on the oil pump, still ticking, swapped cams, lifters, & cam housings (yard parts), still ticking. stuck a new pressure gauge on there tonight, cold startup 100++psi. it sounds like the lifters are not getting oil, but the pressure is way off the chart, I have ran it & ran it & ran it thinking it was air in the lifters. also when I cracked open the pan I found alot of shavings, but I don't know where they came from, just doesn't make any sense to me, too much pressure even after changing the pump cover, too much pressure & lifters not pumping up, im getting ready to trash this quad 4, would have been better putting a 3.1 in from the start. can anyone help make any sense of this???? is there something that goes wrong with the pump that makes it push air and not oil?

hey man sorry to run with your thread but im having a very simular problem, I have a 95 G/A with a 2.3L dohc, one cold night it started ticking real bad, sounds like the lifters aren't pumping up, well I broke 2-100 psi oil pressure guages, figured the problem was too much oil pressure, changed the pressure regulator block on the oil pump, still ticking, swapped cams, lifters, & cam housings (yard parts), still ticking. stuck a new pressure gauge on there tonight, cold startup 100++psi. it sounds like the lifters are not getting oil, but the pressure is way off the chart, I have ran it & ran it & ran it thinking it was air in the lifters. also when I cracked open the pan I found alot of shavings, but I don't know where they came from, just doesn't make any sense to me, too much pressure even after changing the pump cover, too much pressure & lifters not pumping up, im getting ready to trash this quad 4, would have been better putting a 3.1 in from the start. can anyone help make any sense of this???? is there something that goes wrong with the pump that makes it push air and not oil?

Hi, im the one who orginally posted this..I brought my car to the mechanic, and had it looked into..he hooked it up to the computer and found 10 dif problems, the first 3 were sensors that were very expensive, second my transmission was gone,these problems happened out of the blue with no warning and the price to fix this was $4500...since i bought this car it has been nothing but a headache ive had 2 intake manifolds put in $2400..new radiator $350 heater core$400 shifter sensor $150 water pump $300...my advice to you would be to not put any money into this its not worth it but find out the real problem first....when my car started ticking it had no oil pressure..valves were bad, pistons and lifter all went..so good luck and hope its not as bad as mine....i traded it in for $1000..lol