Engine Problems

[smc0407]

i bought a 2001 pontiac grand am SE a couple months ago. When i bought it, it had a good amount of miles on it. But i needed a car and it was cheap. When i got it, i knew it had a coolant leak but that hasn't caused me any problems..other than having to constantly put coolant in it. When i drove the car home..it had been sitting for a while previous to that and wasn't drove much at all. It had some oil in it but it was old and nasty. I took it to have an oil change & have all the fluid changed. when i reached my 3,000 miles and was due for another oil change..my change oil light came on. I knew i needed to get an oil change very soon. well, the night before, i was going to take the car to get one..i was sitting at a store..had my car running..it hadn't been running for long..and all of a sudden it just shut off. so i turned the key off and just sat there for a few minutes and then cranked it back up. when i did, i could tell that it wasn't running right. it was like a spudder. so i imediately turned it back off..and so i checked my oil..and there was no oil. even though i do not have an oil leak..there was no oil... so i bought a quart of oil..put it in there..hoping that i hadn't completely ruined it. and then i cranked the car back up...it continued to run weird...i pushed the gas a little trying to get the oil to circulate through the engine..and it just ran horrible...so i was going to pull my car to the side of the building so it wouldnt be in the way..and when i went to reverse it back fired..so i put it back in park and turned it off. I dont think the engine is blown..but then again i do not know. It still will crank up..but it doesn't run good. it's not driveable. Someone said it could be the timing. that it could be off. I also have the problem that i've read a lot of other people have..with the security light comming on & it not wanting to crank for atleast 10 - 20 minutes. . Also my trac light stays on. my service engine soon & service vehicle soon lights stay on. but i've had the engine checked out previous to what has just happened & everyone has told me that my engine was in good. If anyone could PLEASE help me..i would greatly appreciate it...this is my only transportation and need it fixed as soon as possible. Thanks

[smc0407]

im told it could be my timing, but then it could be a blown motor.
My car shut off on me the other day when i was sitting at a store.
I checked the oil, because when i crunk it up it sounded really weird.
it had no oil at all. so i put a quart of oil in it. and tried it again. still didnt run right. when i went to move the car, it made a popping noise, like a backfire. i left the car where it was sitting. The next day when i went to have it pulled home. it wouldnt crank at all. i really need some help on this. so please if anyone knows anything please let me know.

it's a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am SE 4cyl.

[xeroinfinity]

Welcome to AF !

Your two threads have been merged. No need to post duplicates.

The best way to find out what's wrong is to get it scanned.
Just a misfire could cause the engine to run realy rough. And trip the service engine light. The trac off isnt going to affect the engine running or not.

Also when you first noticed the engine was out of oil. Had it just been running ?
If so the oil may not have had time to run back into the oil pana and give an accrate reading.

Has it had a tune up (plugs-boots)recently ?

[smc0407]

yes, my car had been running for a little while..about 20-25 minutes total..thats leaving my house & driving to the store. So do you think my engine is blown..or it was just misfiring?? or jumping time?

[xeroinfinity]

If it jumped time it wouldnt run at all usualy and you'd hear some racket on the pass side of the engine, along with knocking if it was out of oil. Plus if it was out of oil your low oil light would hav been on , and usualy if its out of oil it'll shut the motor down.

Was the service engine light just "ON" or was it flashing ?
Flashing 90% of the time would be caused by a misfire.

When was the last plugs/boots changed(tune-up) ??

[smc0407]

the service engine soon light has been on for over a month. and it just stays on. it doesnt flash. my change oil soon light was on..but it had just came on a couple days before this happen...but i just thought it was because it was time for my oil change..b/c it was close to 3,000 miles. My oil light (the red one, not change oil one) never came on. I dont know when the last time it had a tune up..i just bought the car..about 4 months ago. my car crunk back up the night that this happened, but it wont crank now.

[grfnkl]

it won't crank up as in the engine doesn't turn over or that it doesn't do anything at all? I agree with Xi get it scanned for codes... that'll make it much easier to figure out what's wrong. your fuel pump could have crapped out or something electrical ( coil pack, plugs, wires) went bad causing the non start issue now, but at the time it was enough to start the car one last time. If the car was running for 25 mins and you take an oil reading it's gonna look like you have none in the car... thats why they always say to get the most accurate reading is to do it when the engine is cold. Oh and the Service vehicle light goes with the trac off light. It's just a warning saying your trac control system is not working properly. Normally it's accompanies with an Abs light as well but not always.

[xeroinfinity]

If its not cranking(turning over) then your baterys dead.

Id change the plugs with AC delco and the rubber boots.

Also your service engine light wont probly go out then untill its cleared with a scann tool or after repairs are made.
So in order to find out why the lights on it'll need scanned for the DTC.