1.9 Oil Pressure Woes!

[S@m 156]

Hi,

Im new to the forum, i drive a 306 which for some unknown reason has a XU9J4 D6C lump in it, (dont ask!). Anyway, today it has developed a problem, started fine and ran well but after about 10 miles, i noticed that it was running a fair bit hotter than normal, close to the red on the gauge, then a tapping noise (sounds more like the head then bottom end) started at part throttle which gradually grew louder as the temp rose, after a couple more miles i stopped and noticed that at idle the oil pressure and STOP lights flickered on and off but go off completely when i rev it above about 2000rpm. After stopping, i noticed smoke from the bonnet, worryingly from the dipstick and below the inlet manifold.

At this point i had to go to work, so left the car for about 6 hours. When i returned, i checked the oil level, which was fine, and started the engine - it ran absolutely fine, with low temp and no tapping, so i tried to make the journey home, after about 10miles the temp started to rise again and the tapping noise returned, so i stopped the car to let it cool, waited about 10mins but it wouldnt start until the temp fell back down to about 80degrees, so i limped home at about 1500rpm, with the temp getting ever higher and the tapping noise at part throttle (no noise at very slight throttle, which is all i dared to use) and when i let it drop below 1800revs the oil and stop lights started flickering again, and once again, smoke and a rather acrid smell from under the bonnet after turning it off.

Any ideas on this one fellas? Its probably something obvious but two heads are better than one, and we've more than 2 heads here. Thanks in advance.

Sam

 

P.S. i know thats a bit of an essay but just wanted to get as much info in as possible.