my pug 206 automatic 52 plate lost all drive , and stalled the engine , losing the power steering , while doing 70 mph on the motorway , the car through the momentum glided to a stop safely on the hard shoulder , there was no loud noises whilst gliding , tried to restart the engine , but it will not turn over the engine , called out the RAC and he checked the timming belt , which was intact , but the engine will not turn over , the starter will work but sounds like it is not engaged with the engine , it just makes a noise like its whirring , did not notice any lights on the dash before the loss of drive , or anything untoward before the loss of drive.

Mark Lewis, October 2011

thanks very much for your expertise , now you come to mention about the rattling , it was only noticable when the engine was stone cold , and when I had the car MOT'd last week , the garage said said it was the exhaust heat sheild on the manifold , your explination seems the more likely . cheers .

Mark Lewis, October 2011

I am guessing the only part common for all three things is the drive plate. It may have fatigued and seperated around the crankshaft. This would have been making rattling noises for a while. If so the reason for failure is miss alignment of bell housing ie. missing dowels or loose bolts.

mags, October 2011