1995 Dodge Ram truck stalled will not restart

ABOECKMANN585

MEMBER
1995 DODGE RAM
V8
4WD
MANUAL
205,000 MILES

Yesterday I got my 95 dodge ram 4x4 stuck in my back yard after several attempts to get out myself I had someone else pull me out. Then later I got in the truck put it in 4 wd drive and drove to work about 10 miles later roads were clear took truck outta 4 wd and back to 2wd for another 10 miles or so then back into 4wd again for about 40 more miles. I was headed up a fairly steep hill just about at the top when my truck made a noise sounded like it was kicked outta 4wd so put my hand down to check the shifter and just as I touched it truck lost power and died out. I was able to get yo side of road tried to restart truck acts like it wants to rollover but won't I popped the hood and saw smoke pour outta it. I see no leaks and theres fluids in it. Truck smealt hot but lights didn't indicate it was overheating. Any ideas wre to start? I replaced the transmission about 15,000 miles ago with another used tranny. Like I said truck was running fine no signs of any prior problems

11 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,170 POSTS

Were you able to identify the smell, coolant, oil, electrical, rubber? Where was the smoke coming from in the engine compartment?

Joe

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Thursday, January 15th, 2009 AT 5:54 PM

ABOECKMANN585

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Well I discovered that the coil burnt up that's most likely why it smelled like it was on fire and also why it wouldn't start. I'm changing that out today but when I pulled the tranny dipstick it smelled like that's what caught fire. Very strong odor, I guess it's possible that with all the smoke under the hood it caused the tranny dipstick to smell too. I'm still just concerned about the noise I heard before all this happedened, not sure the coil catching fire would make that type of noise. Also right now I don't hear my fuel pump when I turn key to on position. Do you know if that's tied in with coil burned out?

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Friday, January 16th, 2009 AT 7:49 AM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,170 POSTS

Did the coil actually burn? Was there any damage to other items?

As far as the trans fluid, if it smells burnt, have it serviced with a new filter. The smell from the coil is most likely not what caused that.

After you get the coil replaced, let me know if there is a problem with the fuel pump.

Joe

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Friday, January 16th, 2009 AT 8:19 AM

ABOECKMANN585

MEMBER
6 POSTS

Ok coil wire burnt up it touched the exhaust manifold and burnt thru. I put another one on and now i'm waiting for my battery to charge it's like 10 below here right now! Now another big concern I have though is I still don't hear the fuel pump kick on when ignition is in the on position and I know it used too. Also I checked the tranny dipstick and it still has a smell too it and the fluid looks blackish almost like the color of oil. It looks to me like maybe the tranny got hot and caused tranny fluid to come back out thru the dipstick cause it looks like theres a little bit on the spark plug wires and around outside of dipstick. Theres nothing under tranny leaking. Like I said I changed the tranny out about 15,000 miles ago/3 months ago with another used tranny but when I did that I changed tranny filter and fluid. I'm worried the tranny is fried, what do you think? Also since it's so cold is it possible my fuel pump froze up?

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Friday, January 16th, 2009 AT 12:31 PM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

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Hi:
Don't worry about the fuel pump yet. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Get the battery charged and see what happens. If it doesn't start, check for spark. If you have spark, give it a shot of starting fluid. If it starts with the fluid, but won't without, then we'll move to the pump.

As far as the trans, service it again. It's common for them to get dirty and it doesn't mean there is a problem. Since you got it used, it may not have been serviced prior, and keep in mind, new ATF has a cleaner in it. Maybe it just did some cleaning for you.

Let me know what happens. Listen, I need to go out of town tonight. I will take a laptop with me and check for your reply, but I may not be able to check until around 10 PM eastern time.

Joe