Ihave a 1991 nisan pickup 2.4

Does it sound like a valve or piston, or something loose on the exhaust pipe ?

I would split your problem into three:

1. "smoke started coming from my tailpipes and my engine."
2. "I checked my oil and there wasn't any in there."
"The car would crank and stall making a rattling noise."
3. "After i put oil in the car and go to crank it my lights would dim and it wouldnt crank."

1. Depending on the color of the smoke, it could've been burned oil (blue-ish) or coolant (white with sweet-ish smell if you use antifreeze). Neither of these should be exititing you tailpipe though... It might be a sign of a blown head gasket.

2. This too can be a sign of a blown gasket. No oil can cause rattling engine noises as your valvetrain has hydraulic lifters which need oil pressure to operate properly. No oil => no pressure => rattling.

3.a. You're not mentioning whether or not you have overheated the engine. Neither are you mentioning whether you were experiencing no-crank condition on hot/warm engine or on cold engine.

3.b. If no crank happend pretty much right after the whole situation, the engine might have still been way too hot to operate normally and the pistons extended to the point that there was too much friction between them and the cylinder walls. It hapens rarely if you don't super-overheat it.

3.c. This might as well be the overly popular hot start problem many SBCs from those years are experiencing. I had it with my '89 camaro and solved it with a remote starter solenoid / relay. On cold engine you can start no-problemo but on warm or hot engine you need to wait till it cools down. Let me know if it's it and I can guide you through a solution.

3.d. It might be a more typical problem with your starter. When they get worn out, they may be more sensitive to temperature, they may need some slight punching with a hammer (pretty typical stuff with old cars). Locate the starter - it should be on the passenger side, can be reached from the top or from under the car, behind passenger's side front wheel.

Don't let this situation get you down. It's a decent automobile which just needs a little care and attention at this moment. If you clean up these small issues with it, you'll never regret you did.

It is definitely mechanical - you are going to need to open up engine until you find a problem - focus on the timing chain

the oil light comes on from loss of oil pressure, this can be from two things 1. your oil pump is bad abd 2. your bearings around the crankshaft are bad. If the noise is coming from the bottom of the engine, Then the bearings are bad. If the noise is at the top then this could be the distributor. the distributor drives the oil pump, there is a shaft or a pin/tongue on the bottom of the distributor. See if it is broke. Also look down the hole and see if the pump is broke. It's hard to see but you can with a good light and mirror. Just a note, If your truck has had a knock for a while(like when you start it in the morningand it goes away in a few minutes or seconds) Then the bearings are bad. It's time to rebuild or replace.

this sounds like a bad clutch throwout bearing in tranny. if it makes a rattling noise then its the bearing. when clutch pedal is pushed in.

ck compression sounds like a blown head gasket between 2 of the cylinders

I'd guess that the fuel pump intake is a little high in the tank or the fuel level is a little low.

check coil. resistor, if the car shuts off when you take a battery cable off its the alternator. timing is off

chances are the adjustment of the throwout bearing fork is the problem . because of vibration that is the rattling that you are hearing. correct adjustment should be as follows.

#1...peddle travle should be no more than 1 1/2 inches

#2...the clearance between throw out bearing and fork no more than 1/2 inch

#3...clearance between fork and fork stops is 1/8 inch

also there should be grease zerts in the shaft that holds the fork and linkage make sure they are not dry of grease...please rate the solution....thanks

the are many possebilities of knocking noises put but listening to what you say try check the engins cam followers