After parking my van and putting my foot on the clutch to shift into neutral,my engine made a loud clatter and stopped (HW8) when I tried to restart it the starter wouldn't turn over the engine, the connections are tight and the battery is good and charged. I put it in 5th gear with the ignition off and it will only turn over if I push the van backwards no matter how much I pull the van it won't move forward. I checked the cam belt and it was OK, I removed the starter and the motor runs and engages, so no problems there. My next move is to remove the rocker cover and see if the cam is OK, but one of the splined studs won't undo and has become damaged and slips when I try to undo it. I'm hoping my stud extractors will undo it. To make matters worse it's an inside one.
Has anyone any idea what could have happened to the engine?