My deli baby is making noise

[Parassazam]

I just came back from a vacation of 6 days... I just started my deli today and it started fine i let it run as i always do to warm up the engine, and then headed out, not even a block later it started making a loud clancking noise... it still starts but with that noise and has lost all the power... it barley moves... guys please help me on this one i am scared...

[Meanman]

check your oil

[Parassazam]

that was the first thing I checked and it is fine...

[Meanman]

can you hear the turbo spool up smoothlty when it first starts?

[Journeyman]

Sorry to hear about your situation, hopefully it is not to expensive to fix. In the meantime, stop driving it and chek all basics ( fluid levels and condition, fuel contamination, cam timing, valve adjustment etc...). Unfortunatly the information you provided is very limited. Short of bringing it to a shop, maybe you can provide a video of the condition to the forum?

-Nick

[Erebus]

a loud clancking noise... it still starts but with that noise and has lost all the power... it barley moves...

I just love typos that make for funnies. Clearly, it is so low on beer that it can't clearly articulate its need.

Seriously though, I can't give any useful suggestion other than have a mechanic listen to it, while not driving or starting it in case it is something serious. Hard to do both. My thoughts are with you.

[TardisDeli]

Do NOT start the engine anymore. Phone Glen at CC Autos in Coombs on the Island. Describe the noise, then be guided by his expert advice. My hunch is piston or rockers, either way any more movement is making huge scars in the cylinder walls. Commiserations, Christine.

[Green1]

It is near impossible to diagnose these sort of things without tearing things apart, let alone without actually hearing the noise. However if it helps I will relay a small story...

I had a similar experience, driving fine, suddenly loud clanking from the engine, couldn't figure out what it was, but a few km later the engine seized.
Turns out that a valve had broken off and fallen in to the engine, it continued to run as long as the valve rattled back up through the hole it was supposed to be in, but as soon as it slid off-centre it completely jammed the engine.

the fix? a new head, new piston in that cylinder, and a whole lot of luck that nothing more was damaged.

the cause? hard to prove, but it appears that the company that did my initial head replacement shortly after I got the vehicle had put a timing belt pulley on backwards, this caused the timing to be out by just a fraction, not enough to cause immediate problems, but enough that the valve had probably been tapping against the piston 600-3500 times a minute for the past 20,000km... eventually it broke.

While diagnosing the problem before taking the engine apart several diesel mechanics also suggested that it could be the result of a thrown rod in the bottom of the engine (though it did not turn out to be)