car ticks over fine just sounds slightly more noisy as i was driving i heard a loud pop but no signs of anything else. i have recently done the cambelt 2k ago. any ideas as i have a 100mile trip tomorrow and dont want to do any more damage

Is there loss of power when you accelerate ?

No loss of power just the initial pop and noisy engine when I pulled up

Could be a change in timing (slipping a tooth)

 

I drove home from work one night and heard a loud pop sound (like i'd ran over a bottle or something) but carried on, got home and parked up.

 

Got in my car to move it the next morning and it wouldn't start, it ticked but wouldn't ignite.

 

Turned out my timing chain had slipped a tooth and needed a new cam chain. Luckily no damage to valve etc.

 

Not to worry you, but i would be cautious 

 

 

Josh

It was just like a pop bottle it was low on oil when I checked this morning but seems to be running ok since iv topped up. I have filled the oil up a couple of weeks before what's the best way to find where the oil is going. There was a slight leak on the sump and I just put it down to that but I gave resealed that and still seem to be losing a lot of oil

it doesn't look like it is burning oil as the plugs are in a good condition 

What engine is it please?

Azq

Have a look around the exhaust manifold, see if you have a missing fastener.  The pop may have been a stud snapping; the subsequent louder engine being because exhaust gases are now leaking past the manifold gasket a bit. 

Definitely not the exhaust had a look tonight.

Is it true synthetic oil doesn't produce smoke or foul plugs

Is it true synthetic oil doesn't produce smoke or foul plugs

 

No, where did you hear that guff? Oil is oil, two-strokes are different from four-strokes!

local motor factors said it doesn't smoke 

local motor factors said it doesn't smoke 

 

Your engine shouldn't smoke at all, no matter what oil you use, if it does smoke then it has serious problems!

its not smoking but im losing oil. i was pretty confident that it wasn't been burnt as no smoke or fouled plugs but questioned myself when the bloke said synthetic doesn't smoke.

its not smoking but im losing oil. i was pretty confident that it wasn't been burnt as no smoke or fouled plugs but questioned myself when the bloke said synthetic doesn't smoke.

 

Well ok, but remember some basic chemistry and you'll soon see through the guff, oil is a hydrocarbon whether it's synthetic or not, it's the carbon that makes the smoke when oil is burnt. Check your sump plug and sump for signs of oil leakage.

iv had a look there is nothing coming from the sump. or the timing case. any other ideas

Even if the exhaust doesn't look smoky at the tailpipe, you may still be burning a fair bit of oil.  Catalytic converters are a good place for oil smoke to be secondarily burnt back to (mostly) CO2 and H2O.

Valve guides, check your spark plugs.