So, last Friday driving over the pennines, a 50 minute journey.

 

There is a permanent thumping noise from the engine, in sync with the revs.

No loss of power.

I know something happened, but turned the music off to listen for other changes in the engine and kept driving more carefully (read within the speed limits).

Got home and next morning I see a few drips of oil beneath my engine.

Check oil level - in the limits.

Check coolant - in the limits.

 

Keep driving since - only short distances.

 

Thumping noise is constantly there, and so is the dripping oil.

I got a 5L oil can in the car, just in case, but didn't need to use it to top up yet.

I'm only driving to work and back home 4.5 miles away.

Check my oil and coolant level at either end of journey. They're still in limits today.

Unscrew the oil cap while the engine is running, and there is no excessive smoke coming out of there, and there is no foaming like the coolant would do if mixed with oil. But I can hear the thumping noise better through the oil filler (I'm sorry now I never did check that before, when the engine was out of trouble to confirm if this is the normal thumping/hissing noise of gasses going past the piston rings on a 145k mileage engine).

Would be a good idea for you (whoever reads this) to check yours now so in case of trouble later you have a benchmark of what the noise should've been.

And best just record it with your mobile phone, and save the video file for use 7 years later.

 

 

I don't feel any loss of power.

Engine runs perfectly smooth at idle or any other revs.

 

So, my thinking:

1. rear crankshaft seal popped out and so I hear thumping noise from the gases that go past the piston rings, and I see the dripping oil of course

or

2. headgasket blown up.

 

Going underneath it looks like the oil is right in the middle of the engine, under the clutch. Can't see perfectly as some crossbars are in the way, and they could make the oil drip somewhere else (maybe).

If headgasket would've blown I would expected oil on one side of the engine, together with foaming oil and coolant loss, plus not running smoothly and some power loss.

If seal is damaged shouldn't I get some oil on the clutch and thus slip?

 

By the way, I do lose coolant at a rate of 1 litre since Jan 2016.

I had to top up my coolant twice since then, with half a litre each time, but I couldn't see where my coolant went.

 

Question:   was my headgaket blown a long time ago and burning 1 litre of coolant since 2016?

Second question:   what's your bet, is it 1 or 2?

Third question:   fix it or get rid of it?

 

 

Oil drip wont be the headgasket (doesnt show external), so my first port of call would be check where the oils coming from.

 

As far as thump im not sure what you mean, do you mean rod knock?

 

if so then its engine shagged