Sunday my truck was sitting in the driveway all day. High temp of around 90. That eveninig I started her up and let 'er idle for about two minutes. It was hot so I turned on the A/C. Drove for about a block to the stop sign and POOF! A puff of white smoke (or steam) came from the drivers side of the engine compartment. The accompanying noise sounded just like an airline disconnecting via quick release from an air compressor. Everyone in the cab felt it and heard it.

Any help on what this was. I immediately checked under the hood and saw nothing. As a "newby" to diesels I wasn't even sure what to check. The truck has been running like a champ ever since. I've inspected the engine compartment several times with no obvious incidence. Rig is at 3,500 miles.
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'05 2500, 4x4, HO-CTD, HD 6 spd, LSD 3.73, QuadCab, Patriot Blue Pearl Coat, Long Bed, Big Horn Edition, Mopar Side Step and Jacobs Brake. Trailering 21' 2001 Arctic Fox with Suzuki Vinson 500 in bed of truck

 

First thing I'd check is the intercooler and the rubber boots connecting to it. Is your intercooler plastic or is it one of the new metal ones? There have been problems with the plastic ones breaking.

If you've lost boost you will also see a dramatic loss of power. Do you have a boost gauge?

The other thing I'd check is whether or not the A/C is working OK? Does it get cold?

 

I'm not as familiar with the CTD as I need to be yet however, everything looks and functions as normal. The A/C works fine, absolutely no drop in power. Several searched under the hood with nothing "obvious". My gut feeling is something with the a/c happened, but all the hoses and connections "look" fine. ???

 

The intercooler is the big radiator 2nd from the front. Check that over as well as the rubber boots connected to it. Consider putting soapy water on the joints while it's running. Is your intercooler plastic or metal? Maybe one of the boots is loose enough to temporarily "let go" and then sealed back up again. Try tightening all the clamps on the boots.

 

will do (metal I believe)

 

with no power drop and a/c still working, on such a hot day, how high was the humidity? i would check your viscous fan clutch it sounds to me like the fan wasn't pulling enough air through the condenser and the high pressure side of the a/c got too high and popped the high side pressure saftey valve. I would have the a/c presssures tested, a local shop or anyone with a set of gauges can do that for you.

 

If it was while coming to a stop sign an IC hose blowing wouldnt make a sound... No load on the engine to make boost.. Nor would it have any steam or fluids in there to create steam.

My guess is you cracked your engine block.

No, just kidding. But its probably a/c related. When you had the hood up could you smell anything that could possibly hint at what it was??

Why go to a shop to have it pressure tested? 3,500 miles its still dealers responsibility

 

It's goin to a local dealer Friday morning. I'll ask them to pressure check the a/c. No smells or ANY evidence of malfunction was ever noticed. The only thing that has been different is a slighty higher amount of sweating/condensation from running the a/c, but it works fine. Weird...

It's the diesel fuel prices that bother me most !

 

i would just have them check all that out but the a/c wont smell but for only a few seconds till it dissapates but i think your a/c high pressure side got too high and popped the saftey valve. more condensation running off a/c can mean a small drop in efficiency but hope all works out for ya.

 

Dealership found nothing. Unrelated was a bad gasket on the transfer case (leaking fluid). Replaced. Dealership said that they would research for and DMC postings on this problem, otherwise everything looks normal. The bad or incorrectly installed transfer case gasket was a known problem so check for leaks on your 03+ transfer case.

Hmmmm. ???