There's a reason they call them Idiot Lights. When all other warning signs are ignored - leaks, noise, smells, temp-guage, . . . . the idiot lights come on. If this ever happens, stop, STOP NOW! Shut everything off, wait for professional assistance!

She's toast man, maybe just (A) a dropped valve seat - clattering around on the valve, or (B) maybe swallowed by the cylinder and scorring the he!! out of it. If it is (A) just rattling around on the valve stem and preventing proper valve action, a head might be your fix. Every time you start it, you increase the chances that (B) will happen.

sounds too me that it's time too get a new motor. personally I wouldn't be surprised too see something wrong with the piston rings. drop the oil, see what it looks like. just my 0.02$

thanks to most of you for your supportive posts.

When towing my truck, they should pick it up from the back correct? and put it in N? 2007 dodge Dakota 4x4 V8

I have synthetic oil in there, I checked the dipstick, it seems a bit milkier and darker then usual.
and smells a bit burnt.
it possible just changing the oil might do something.

I haven't turned the truck on now since the day it happened, when I was trying to distinguish the difference in amount the motor was shaking from regular. and aswell a new knocking noise.

anyhow , im having it towed tomorrow morning to hopefully get some insight.
the dealership cant see it for a full month. so I have a nother garage looking at it

so I should have them check head gaskets , check for compression in cylinders, dropped valves swallowed valves, check for scorched sparkplugs?
thanks again everyone who wasn't feeding off my misery. **** happens to the best of us. just because I drove 5 minutes before I realised my temp gauges was at the top , and as soon as I saw that the light came on and I pulled over.
and got abus an got the water pump and replaced it on the side of the road.

because of this im missing out on a big job I just won a bid on.

just replacedmy transmission and drive shaft, I am an idiot for not doin the water pump I just didn't notice any apparent signs. no squeelin, over heating anything until the final 5 minutes of the trucks apparent life...
thanks again guys

Milky oil = warped or cracked head thus allowing coolant to leak into the motor/oil.

Engine is toast, like stated.

So moral....don't drive an overheated truck ;-) sitting on the side of the road for 45 minutes would have saved you $3,500 ;)

I will agree that its stupid vehicles don't "ding" when dummy gauges exceed a point of concern because of all driving days, vehicles break down a handful of days vs the hundreds/thousands of days driven. So looking at those specific gauges isn't a habit like looking at the speedo

so is it a possibility its the head gaskets alone that are fried? and replacing them is a possibility?
I just had a look online, it may be possible to get a set for 250-400.
could this be my fix? the engine seemed to be shaking more then usual and a new knocking noise..
anyway thanks, let you know what happens tomorrow.

The head gaskets could be the least of it. They probably warped, and would need to be milled or replaced. If a valve seat was dropped, it could have punched a hole in the side of the cylinder, draining water into the cylinder.

The long and the short of it, head gaskets going bad can cause milky oil over time. You ran it for a very short time and have milky oil. That means obliterated gaskets, heads so warped it pours into the cylinder, cracks or holes in the block somewhere...

Sorry if you found my comment a little harsh - it was meant to be general in nature and not calling you an idiot, I don't even know you.

Head gaskets go quickly generally for one reason, something is out of plane - the heads get too hot, they are secured around the head bolts, but can't take the thermal stresses between the bolts. The head is now warped, and the gasket can't keep the pressures in. The head will not cool down and go back to its original shape. Best case, no damage other than head gasket and warped head(s). Replace the head(s) or plane them and reinstall, depending on how far they are gone. The oil will have to be changed, no matter what. It might be diagnostic to drain it first, but . . .

Sorry you had to pass on a job because you are lacking a truck, but wouldn't renting one make sense? Maintain your reputation and make a little bit of money?

If you haven't had it towed yet, you will need dollies I think. Unless it is a really short distance, you will mess something up on an all-wheel drive truck.

There are a lot of people that don't have experience or understanding of how an engine (or anything mechanical) really works or what can be catastrophic. This also means that once a serious incident has occurred, they don't have much idea of how to recover, and garages all over the planet love to get these people into their shop. In this case, I would take it to a shop for a diagnosis, but if it does turn out that there is serious damage to the engine, I would not let them fix it. It will be cheaper to get a salvage yard engine (complete) and swap out the broken one for a running one and then look after it. It still won't be cheap to get the diagnosis and then swap engines, but at least it will be less than the truck is worth.

okay! so I got the dak towed to a garage at 830 this morning..
stuck around to tell them to push it into the garage not drive it, and they said "well if its ****ed its ****ed driving it that far wont do anything worse"

then i get a call around 3pm saying,
" you dont owe me a cent buddy, the mechanic turned it on an said that its ****ed and you need to replace your engine"

so ANYWAY, i tows it home...
gets inmy driveway fiddlin around, did a test on each of the sparkplugs.cylinders - unpluggin each one and turning the engine on and noting any loss or not loss of power..
seemed to have singled out the cylinder which did not make a difference when i unplugged the coil plug. seemed to run smoother with it unplugged and idrove it around the block a couple times...
didint seem to be over heated. but DEFINITELY loss of power.
do you guys think it is possible to drive a bit until i replace the engine?

i found a new one for 1800+tax..and then labor to install around 750..

i have a job about 40km there and return total..need to get out there probably 4-5 times to complete the job to do the swap

think i could pull it off this off???? am i going to do any more damage to other components??!!!?!?
do not flame (insult) me please

northgator- thank you for the re reply
no rentals left in my city as it is tourist season and they rent up all the uhauls and storage facility rentals as well, i called, i found a cargo van for $79 a day taxes in they rent it twice a day , so two rental payments and 2 insure cost plus .49ct a KM.

The mechanic wasted my time telling me to tow it down there where it didint even bother doing any diagnostics, i should have made them pay for my tow come to think of it now.
but in turn he would say i owe him minimum so and so and he was doing me a favor by telling me to replace my engine, rather then doing any diagnostics when its possible it could be something simple.
but maybe they just know.
i would bring it to DODGE dealership but earliest they can see me is aug 27. i made the apt anyway.
I will change the oil as I also believe that is necessary as it became scorched.
should i replace the filter as well or just drain it?
AND sorry
edit
I just saw your comment about needing dollies..
i guess 45 dollars a tow these guys forget to mention that.
trucks been towed twice..
let me know what im getting my self into if i consider driving with a cylinder unplugged!?! should i go buy a compression tester to double check they cylinder

You can do whatever you want. Your motor is trash.. If it runs why not drive it? What's it going to do, die?