I have a 2003 Stratus sedan 2.4L DOHC with 156k on it and original motor.
The problem all started when I was cruising down the highway at 65 and heard a quick grinding noise like when you engage the starter motor while the car is already running. The motor instantly stalled and the RPMs went to 0, speedometer was still working. Pulled over and tried to restart, took about 10 seconds straight of cranking to start it everytime but it eventually started and ran a bit rough.
Noticed a stream of oil coming from the bottom of the oil pan right next to the bell housing dust shield, leak could be higher up but haven't located it yet. At first I thought it threw a rod through the block so I hopped back in and drove it home quickly to avoid paying for a tow, oil light never came on so it wasn't running low. Driving was a little rough, the RPMs would never go above 2.5k and the check engine light was flashing all the way.
When I got home I pulled codes P0335 and P0300, the 300 code told me all 4 cylinders were still functional and the bottom end was ok, I was expecting a P0301-304.

So now I believe I have a bad CKP or the timing belt may have slipped, I still can't explain the stream of oil coming out on the ground though.

Anyone have any input on where to even start, at first I thought I needed a new motor but now it just seems like a CKP sensor and maybe a slipped timing belt that could have been the quick grinding sound, unless that had something to do with the oil leak.

 

When does the oil look like its leaking from. The crankshaft seal?

 

Well I pulled the oil pan off this morning, what happened was the thing with the teeth for the CKP (I think harmonic balancer? I don't know, I just know how to take bolts out) completely ripped apart leaving shards of metal all over the place and dents, cracks and holes in my oil pan as well as denting and eating up part of the crankshaft and the last 2 pistons. That explains why the CKP code was thrown and having multiple misfires because the "thing" had half of the teeth missing.
So all the problems seem related to one common thing which is good and makes sense now.

Now the question is, was this a weak part in the engine? I never heard of any problems like that before and everything else on the motor is perfect, or was right before.
At this point I don't think it's worth rebuilding the motor If the broken part is easy enough to replace I can just throw a new one on with a new pan and drive it untill the damage on the block, crank and pistons finally destroys itself.