I am asking this to assist my coworker that bought my R50 from me about 2 months ago. He is looking for help in diagnosing the issue. This is the story that I have from him, though his 18 year old son. This is the young adults first manual transmission.
On the freeway changing into 5th gear, there was a bang and ALL the warning lights come on, the motor stalls out. He pulls to the side of the road and tows the car back home. He sent me this video the other day. It starts up on the first crank and runs but with that really loud clicking.

 

Any guess at where to start? Anyone?

 

Thought,

Really just a wild guess without being there and being able to tell what part of the engine the noise is coming from but my first thought is timing chain or valve train issue like a broken valve spring?

Mileage?

Robj

 

Mileage is about 140k. My first thought was a valve issue of some kind,too. Timing chain was not something that I had considered. Thank you. I'm not with the car either.

 

Thought,
Another thought, and not to be disparaging against 18year old kids,[I was one once myself and hence my comment] but a somewhat new driver, a sporty car, new to stick shift, zooming it up, missing a gear, [maybe not 5th] and redlining the engine...???

He wouldn't be the first 18 Y.O. with a good, "I don't know what happened", story for Dad.

I once told my youngest son, "What you need is a dumber father". Jus sayin...

Are they looking to you for some sort of relief?

robj

 

I was thinking the same thing.
The two things also just may have occurred on or near the same time, but not be related, because the sound from the video leans itself toward a simple timing chain tensioner. And the event you refer to sounds like a miss shift either into 3rd instead or of 5th, or even between two gears for a second.

Get yourself an automotive stethoscope and try to really pinpoint where the sound is coming from.
Plus you never mention if the car moves under it's own power or not, to rule out a clutch, transmission or diff issue.

 

I also thought of a missed shift as well and they are not looking for any kind of relief just some assistance in getting a clue to what went wrong. The 18 yo father literally sits in the cube right behind me at work and was well aware of the autocross and track days I did in the car.

I will ask him if the car can move under it's own power.

 

When I was fairly new to driving and had my 220k + mile E46 I once went from 5th to 2nd gear, no damage but was still a scary time. Since he heard a "bang" it might be worth investigating for a money shift.

Although the video does sound like a timing chain rattle, but it is hard to tell. Could also be something bouncing around inside like a valve. Might be worth pulling the spark plugs out and having a peek inside the motor.

 

Pop the valve cover off. Take a look at the valve springs. Then do a compression check on cylinders. Plus check you cams.

 

CEL on? If so what are the codes?

If the CEL is not on check for pending codes.

If there are no active or pending codes...

Pinpointing where the noise is coming from can help.

However, the engine can be pretty sick and any run time may do more harm: If something lets go if a valve falls into a cylinder... Oh oh.

With no CEL that suggests the cylinders are performing at least good enough. Thus a compression test may not reveal much.

But the location of the noise needs to be pinpointed and where it is determines what comes next. Probably exposing that area to visually look for something out of the ordinary.

 

He is certain that the car can move on it's own, so transmission/axle probably ruled out. it is an R50 and has the Midlands/Rover 5speed so if he went from 4 to 3 or 1 when on the highway, the transmission would have probably failed first. he's not in today so I'll have to talk to him on Monday. thanks for the help so far. I'll post here later if there is any further updates from him. god I feel bad about this.

You should have seen the look in his son's eyes when he saw the car. just like mine when I picked her up 15 years ago. I wanted to sell the car to someone who would love the car and that is what seemed to have happened. Then this! F-me. You all, as has been for 15 years, have been of great help. Again, when I have more info, I'll post with more questions.