knocking noise

help,ive just put my car back on the road after a month of it being parked up. and yes i was starting it every few days. took it for a short run and within a few miles it started knocking badly and had lost some of its oil pressure then when i let the throttle off it just died and spat all its water out. and to make maters worse i was about to sell it tomorrow

doesn't sound good i'm afraid. lost oil pressure can mean the oil pump failed, the oil level was too low, or the head gasket went. that fact that it "spat all its water out" suggests a head gasket problem. i'm making a guess here, but i think the knocking noise may have been the oil pump, and the water is a sign that the engine overheated due to low oil circulation, which caused the head gasket failure. the fact that this happened in a few miles makes it less likely that the car overheated, unless you let it idle for some time before you starrted the journey. i guess the other option is that the thermostat stuck because the car has been sat for a month, which meant the engine overheated quickly, and then the head gasket went which caused a loss of oil pressure and water. in that case the knocking is more likely to have been the engine overheating or head gasket failure causing compression problems in the cylinders. was it a knocking which increased with engine speed (oil pump) or was it more of a loss of power and rough running (overheating & headgasket failure) either way i think the headgasket has gone, and no matter how it happened finding the cause is just as important as replacing the gasket. i hope im wrong

just found out its worse than that discovered that the turbo is shot and that this used up all the oil in the engine as i was driving.tryed to sort it only for the crank to put a big hole in the side of the block. so im breaking her for parts now

wow that is worse, i guess you (or previous owners) didnt obey the turbo rules, most turbo owners aren't even aware of the rules (i'm not suggesting you aren't or didnt follow them)

rule1. letting the car settle for 3 mins at least before you turn the engine off EVERY TIME no matter what, this is because the turbo needs a chance to shed its excess heat and pressure and this takes some time. thats why a turbo timer is worth its weight in gold. to reduce the required time you can keep the car at high idle (1250-1450rpm) for a couple of minutes.

rule2. not touching the accelerator for at least 3 mins when starting EVERY TIME, a turbo takes longer to get oil into it than the head would, once the revs appear to settle at the usual idle most people assume the turbo will be ready, not true. a clue that you've set off too quickly is a slightly slow car. if the car starts running better after 5 mins of driving thats because you havent given the car time to warm the oil and lube the turbo.

these rules apply for all turbos, even diesels. when these rules are ignored a turbo's life is much shorter, i've seen turbos fail at 60k!! they should last 3 times that if the rules are followed and services are regular.

even if you dont cause turbo failure, ignoring the rules will make your turbo less efficient and your car slower. i think a turbo timer should be standard on all turbo cars.

Reminds me of when I was investigating a "pinging noise" on a Coupe.

Turns out a bearing had melted and the conrod was so loose on the crank that it was tapping the side of the block...

Mike.