2000 Grand Prix SE engine locked up

[cmcanalley]

My 2000 Grand Prix SE engine is locked up. There is plenty of oil, engine did not overheat, no lights came on, it just died on the interstate. Has anyone else had this problem, or know what could have caused it?

[GTP Dad]

Are you certain the engine is locked up. Second, what size engine do you have in the car? As you describe it there should have been other indications prior to the engine going south. If it did not overheat, and the oil pressure didn't drop then I doubt it locked up. Did you hear a loud noise when it died such as metal grinding? It sounds more to me like the fuel pump stopped working or you had a total failure of the ignition or computer. It is also possible that the timing chain broke causing the engine to stop running. There are so many things that it would help to have more information. Please repost with as much as possible so we can help diagnose the problem.

[cmcanalley]

It's a 3.8 engine. Unfortunatley, I wasn't in the vehicle when this happened. From what I understand there was a rattle, no metal grinding. The sound got louder so they decided to pull off but before they could get off the interstate it died. They said they drove it for about 5 minutes before finding an exit. It was towed to a garage where a mechanic tried to turn it with a wrench. My son-in-law heard something drop into what he thought might be the oil pan. After that they couldn't turn it at all. When it died, all of the lights came on momentarily then went off. It wouldn't crank or even try to turn over.

[BIG-L]

My son-in-law heard something drop into what he thought might be the oil pan. After that they couldn't turn it at all. When it died, all of the lights came on momentarily then went off. It wouldn't crank or even try to turn over.

That sound is not good,sounds as if it threw a rod.

[GTP Dad]

I agree with Big-L, if they heard something drop into the pan then a rod let go. It will be expensive to get back on the road.