) - apologies if it ends up appearing twice.I was overjoyed to get my '82 1.6 NA diesel back on the road on this weekend after a few weeks of changing bits and pieces (starter motor, throttle cable, fuel filter, battery etc), however, I was soon plunged into dispair as follows:
After 5 miles, van seemed to be running very hot (but no temp warning light) then oil light came on. Pulled over, investigated and found oil filler cap loose, obviously oil was splattered around but there was still some in. Top-up and expansion tanks for radiator fine (and water/coolant seems clean). Topped up the oil, let engine cool for about half an hour and started her up again no problem (and no warning lights on).
About 200 yards down the road slowed down for a roundabout to find myself rapidly loosing power and stalling. Restarted ok, but started to make loud clunking noises as I pulled away. Stalled again twice whilst making my way into the adjacent carpark.
Once safely parked up had a look in the engine bay, nothing obviously wrong. She is now starting up and idling fine, but high(er) revs cause the clunking sound and loss of power, which is also accompanied by small amounts of thick white smoke (not "normal" diesel smoke), so have left her in-situ for now.
Would really appreciate any tips on identifying the most likely cause of these symptoms. Books seem to suggest most likely culprit is Big End bearings, but with a number of other possibilities such as head gasket, piston rings and even exhaust issues, so really trying to narrow it down before having to make a commitment about where to get her recovered to.
Am especially wondering if there is any fault that could have caused pressure to blow the oil filler cap off, as I am 99% sure I didn't leave it like that.
MTIA
x
) but he didn't really want to commit to a diagnosis due to lack of diesel knowlege, although he didn't think it was head gasket. A mechanically capable (& under 40 
