Pontiac Repair: 96 pontiac grand am se 3.1 oil sending unit, oil sending unit, cracked block

Question
My son just ran this car till it shut down. when I got to it it was completely out of oil. We filled it and the knocking subsided a bit. I was following him home and notices smoke and when we stopped there was oil spraying from under the exhaust manifol all over the cooling fan. I am hoping it is the oil sending unit and not a cracked block or something. Is that the location of the sending unit and what shoul I look for?

Answer
Hi Frank:

First off any noise is not a good thing. if it was run with no oil that is BAD. but to answer your question yes the oild sending unit on that engine is on the side of the block where the starter motor is just above it and to the side of the oil filter. it threads right into the block. good luck :)