2000 ford excursion Wont start?

Question

I have a 2000 ford excursion that wont start. It will crank but white smoke comes from the engine area. When im cranking it it gets close to starting but sounds bad and causes car to shake. Anyone know whats wrong?

Update:

The engine is a 7.3 powerstrole with 260000 miles on the vehicle. I forgot to mention that we had found that it was out of oil, but when we added oil it did the exact same thing

Answer 1

260k miles, sounds bad, low oil, white smoke, shakes when started.  Not very good indicators.  Engine is misfiring.  It is best to get it towed to a diesel mechanic and get the compression checked. One or two cylinders could be dead or head gasket is bad.  Injection oil pump could also have failed from oil starvation.  Good luck.

Answer 2

Edit your question

Give us

The engine type : IE 3.0 Duratec. It's on a sticker under the hood or on a door

Mileage on vehicle

Has routine maintenance been done?

This will help us help you.

But...

It ain't good.

If your Ford has over 100,000 miles I would GUESS a timing chain or belt slipped. And, yes. That's a big thing.