2001 24 valve 5.9 cummins rear main seal

The truck would not restart and I could smell diesel. I coasted to the edge of the road the best I could but was still blocking much of the north bound side of the highway. A few miles later while approaching Jackpot, the truck died just like you had shut if off. The first indication of a problem was the check engine light came on but the truck continued to appear to run okay. The driving tracks on the road were basically bare but there was lots of packed snow and ice along the edges of the road and in some places in the center of the driving lanes. It was before sunrise on the 2nd of January and were were approaching Jackpot NV near the Idaho/Nevada boarder (middle of no where.) The outside temp was 7 below according to the trucks temp gauge. (she works at a local primary school) We were pulling a car trailer that had our Suzuki Sidekick 4X4 on it that we had used to explore around the desert with on our trip. My wife and I were driving home from our annual Christmas break trip to Arizona.

I have a 2007 Dodge 3500 4 door pickup with the Cummins 5.9. I am sure a lot of you are already aware of the issue, but until a few days ago, I was not and if I can help even one person out there I feel this thread is worth it. Also, I am not trying to start a bash on Dodge/Cummins but am only trying to warn others of a recent problem I had with my Dodge that turned out to be a fairly common problem.

I have seen other threads concerning pickups so figure this one is okay.

2001 24 valve 5.9 cummins rear main seal