UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

My polo started making an awful noise yesterday as I was driving home. Had been fine all day (at least 100 miles on and off) but then out of the blue it made a noise like a gear eating a rock while being hit with a spanner (can't think of a better way to describe it). It was really loud and sounded like it was coming from fairly low down in the engine compartment. At first it was only audible at low revs and went away at higher revs but then she lost power, brakes and steering and wouldn't start up again. Any advise would be greatly appreciated

Sounds pretty dire, unfortunately. Was there a deep knocking sound prior to the gear eating a rock ?

Does the car still turn over with the plugs out (try by hand, 19mm ring spanner on crankshaft pulley rather than using starter motor.)