Engine knocking, shaking to bits

Was driving for a few hours on Sunday and as I pulled up at a shop, all of a sudden the engine started knocking like someone was hitting it with a hammer. Lifted the bonnet and opened the oil filler cap and the noise didn't get louder. Took the rocker cover off and again still wasn't any louder. Sounded very bottom end. The engine was shaking quite a lot. Got recovered and the bloke from green flag said it sounded bottom end related too. No smoke at all.

I thought it maybe big end bearings as this would make sense, but I have just stripped them off and seem fine if I'm honest, just waiting for new ones to arrive. I'm not sure I have diagnosed it right.

Oil pressure hasn't been low or oil level.

How's your timing/timing belt?

When mine was doing this the timing belt has slipped

think i would have looked at fuel/timing first.

shame it's stripped a vid would have been good

I would of thought that if it was timing belt related that the engine would of cut out. That's why I jumped to the conclusion that it was bottom end too. I will check the timing tomorrow.

I didn't want to video it because I was worried about causing more damage, I wish I did now

Hope your doesn't look like mine did.....



Runs fine now though

Is it possible for me to check to see if it has slipped by locking TDC and trying to insert the locking pin?

yes bud, there's a marker on the camshaft and crank woodruff key and the pin should go into the fuel pump

Sorry I meant to say can I check without taking the timing cover off and just checking the pump and TDC alignment, or would this not give a clear indication of a jumped belt?

I guess so, I know you can check TDC from the mark in the flywheel by looking through the wading plug hole on the flywheel housing. It's just I knew that my timing belt was goosed so I had to have the timing cover off