ok so the sad part of this is i wasnt actually driving my truck, nor in it when this happened, but last night my dad was driving my 2001 ram with the 5.9 magnum in it and he was goin down the freeway when it backfired twice, spit flames he said... and he coasted to the side and it shut off... not sure what the heck happened at all, its at a professional shop that my dads friends with so hes gonna keep me updated on what theyre doing...

so i would like to know if anyones had this randomly happen to them like it did to my dad

ALSO!

final details:
-engine temp was fine
-oil pressure also fine
-engine isnt locked up cuz it turns over
-had plenty of electricity for cranking
-fuel pump turned on when key was turned
-when truck was turned over gasoline fumes could be smelled

I have absolutely no clue what could have caused this, and whats actually wrong with it which sucks because i usually know whats wrong...

Any thoughts?

 

Could have broken a timing chain.

 

ouchh :/ are the magnums non interference?

 

There are so many things that can cause that. If it's not a mechanic defect, it seems most likely to be the CPS (camshaft position sensor, AKA distributor pickup). I've seen the latter dozens of times across several makes of vehicles.

 

hmmm interesting... cuz the cap rotor wires and plugs are only about maybe 5000 miles old

 

But the CPS has probably been in there since the truck was built.

 

this is most likely true... lol

 

Or the crank sensor. Check and see if there are any stored codes. The CEL will not always go on.

 

Last time that happened to me it was a broken distributor rotor.But it was a big block chevy.

 

take the cap off and roatate the crank shaft and see if the rotor button turns and that will tell u if the timing chain broke