Was backing up the camper in my yard (barely made it 15ft) and all of a sudden the truck just died. Started blowing white smoke from the back of the motor, couldn’t pin point an exact location.

Truck turns over but will not start no matter what. Upon looking around noticed it blew a trail of oil on the ground from where I started backing up with the camper.

You can see oil on the bottom of the filter as well as the oil pan.

Not sure what to do or where to even begin.


1996 Dodge Ram 5.2 4x4 5-speed

 

Wow, there are so many things to consider. How many miles on the engine? Were you idling or pulilng some throttle? Oil in the engine full? Coolant level? Did the engine make any unusual noises before it died?

 

124k on motor. Pulling some throttle for sure - nothing crazy though. Honestly did not check the oil level, obviously it’s not where as full as it was cause I found some on the ground lol but I will check. Got fed up and went inside a minute to get on here. No unusual noises, however, did smell a burnt rubbery like smell while in throttle? Truck went “boof” and just lost all power and died. Turns over perfectly, doesn’t even try to start though.

 

The "boof" sound is where I'd like to focus to determine what caused it. Did the oil filter pop and allow oil to drain out? Are all of the spark plugs in place or did one pop out?

 

You know it appeared there was an “excessive” amount of oil on the oil filter its self. I wonder if maybe that could be a culprit. Would that shut the entire vehicle down though?

Spark plugs all appear to be in order.

 

124K is a bit early for a timing chain failure. How does the engine sound when you try to start it? Does it sound normal or does it seem to be cranking a bi faster and smoother than usual? Keep in mind the terms "Cranking" and "Turning over" are the same action. I've had people say it will crank but not turn over. These terms go back 120 years or so.

The oil can be a symptom of the underlying issue or it might be a red herring. Did you smell the white smoke when it failed? Did it smell like gasoline? Did it smell sweet? I did a major tune up on my '96 Ram last summer and it had around 150K on the timing chain. It was running, but under load, it would misfire. My last hauling trip took 1 1/2 hours to go 40 miles as it kept missing. The misses did sort of go "Boof". I'm wondering if your Boof was an ignition failure? It could be a broken timing chain, a failed rotor in the distributor or something else. Is the oil engine oil or power steering fluid?

One simple thing you can do to whittle the possibilities down is remove the distributor cap and crank the engine with the starter. If the rotor spins, at least the timing chain isn't broken. It might have jumped, but it's intact. You'll need someone to help you with that. One to crank, one to watch. If it jumped a tooth, it will spin a lot easier because it's off the compression.

 

Since you stated there was oil around the oil filter and the oil pan, I'd be tempted to remove the oil filter to see if it swelled up and popped. Also, check the oil pressure sending unit behind the distributor to see if it broke off and leaked oil there.

With oil on the pan and the oil filter, sounds like you have a oil leak somewhere. How low is the oil level on the dipstick?

 

Engine doesn’t sound any different on crank I don’t believe than prior to the incident. Just lack of start.

Water pump went out around 100k and I replaced timing chain with a new double roller during that install. I don’t expect it to be the culprit but will definitely give that test run a go just to rule it out - like you said it could’ve jumped.

No noticed smells other than the burning rubber like smell.

The oil certainly appears to be engine oil - specifically from where it’s coming off of the filter.

 

Will check the oil level when I get home today and update.

Not familiar with the oil pressure sending unit. What exactly should I be looking for or noticing?

 

Did oil spray on the coil and wires? Did you check if you have spark?