Truck struggling to start and then smoking

Hey guys,
Two weeks ago I was driving home and my truck started pulsing when I braked (nothing like I have ever experience with bad brakes) and the whole thing just felt like it was running odd. About 200 yards from my house while stopped at a light I heard a loud bang and then metal scraping as I drove it home. That was right before I left for vacation and when I just went to start it it struggled to start and sounded very weak. Once it fired up smoke started pouring out from underneath the hood and didn’t seem to run right. Any ideas what this could be? Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else. Thanks!

 

The dual lunar frequency modulator is out of phase, wait it’s not Friday yet

 

Wow. Doesn't sound good. Where is smoke coming from? Remove oil cap while running and see if it puffs smoke. What does oil look like? Leaks underneath? Clanking noises while idling?

 

Have you looked under the hood for anything out of place?
Checked oil and other fluids?
Looked under the truck for any leaks?

 

Your dip stick tube blew off……….
Ya not
Friday yet.

 

Loud bang and then metal scrapping. Damn and you didn't even look to see what it was?

POP the hood look around or take some pictures in over and under the engine compartment. Post them here and maybe someone can help.

 

If I saw something I would obviously know what it was and wouldn’t have made this post. I saw absolutely nothing that looked wrong.

 

What kind of smoke was it? Steam, white, black? Did it smell like burning electrical something?

I had this happen Friday. It didn’t smoke, just a loud boom, then acid pouring out.

 

Well you didn't say that you even looked for a cause in the original post. You need to help us help you.

It could be a lot of things, but we have nothing to base a guess on.

Did you look under the hood with the engine running to see where the smoke was coming from?

I'll take a few guesses:

1. The AC Compressor locked up and is burning the belt.
2. You ran the engine low on oil and spun the bearings and threw a rod.

 

Just started it again and no smoke this time. Serpentine belt snapped immediately. Oil is good, it was changed the day before this happened. Thanks for all of your input guys.

 

Check the AC Compressor to see if it is locked up.

Check the accessories that are driven by the serpentine belt. Alternator, Fan, Idler pulleys etc.

Something is locked up and caused the serpentine belt to break.

 

Awesome, will do that tomorrow. Thanks!

 

oil is good because it was changed as in Cletus did it wrong and you trust him?

or you did it yourself right, pulled the dipstick to check, and know it has 5.5 quarts in it

if belt snapped AC compressor probably went out. The belt spinning on a locked compressor would make smoke.
Engine should still make power. You’d just have less power to other components such as power steering pump due to no belt which would make the steering feel heavy.
Compressors can definitely go out randomly on their own after 100k/10yr

sometimes if they have a certain clutch face design you can tell because it will look shredded in front. Or have debris. Or fail to turn at all. Or not kick on and change temperature.
If it did fail, it may have sent debris through your AC circuit requiring not just replacement of the compressor, but also doing a system flush and replacing certain parts like orifice tube etc
I don’t know where the receiver driver/desiccant bag is on these trucks

some cars have a separate canister for it. Some have it bolted into the end side tank of the condenser and replaceable. Others have it part of the condenser where the whole condenser must be replaced

I don’t know exactly what components run off the belt. Maybe cooling fan, p/s pump, alternator, water pump - if that is the case, probably not good to drive more than a minute with basically a disabled water pump etc not being spun due to no belt.

I have seen before of routing allows it, people install a bypass belt to eliminate their compressor, to keep the vehicle still driveable until they replace the compressor, albeit with no AC. A bypass belt obviously being a different length and probably shorter.
If possible, I would do that, because I like my car driveable (even with an issue on the list to be fixed) rather than dead in the water sitting in a parking lot depending on a tow truck

 

Post back and let us know your findings.

 

Almost the exact same thing happened to me last October literally the day before I was to pull a heavy trailer from NH to Missouri…I started the truck to go fill up with gas before the trip and smoke started pouring out from under the hood. I shut the engine off immediately, opened the hood and this cloud of acrid smoke that smelled like burned rubber rolled out of the engine compartment. After that cleared out, I tugged on the serpentine belt and it broke in two. My alternator had seized. I found one and a belt and spent the next 6 hours replacing both outside in the rain. I ended up doing the belt in the morning before I headed out as I kept missing what pulleys to run the belt over because it was too dark outside to see much.

All I can say is I am SO glad this happened in the driveway and all my tools I needed were at the back end of the trailer.

 

Holy crap!

 

Well. Any updates?

 

Hey y’all sorry I haven’t gotten back. Looks like my alternator is seized up and caused the belt to snap. Thanks for all of your input everyone!

 

Yup, this happened to me which I referred to earlier in this thread. Changing out the alternator isn't hard...the only thing I had an issue with was pulling the tension pully back (alone) while slipping the belt over it. I was so afraid that the breaker bar I was using and lashed in place precariously with a bungee cord would slip while my booger hooks were under the belt and then what ???

Having one other person there would've made my job way much easier.

 

booger hooks LOL!