Something fell from my car and then it cut out

[Caldo]

I was driving around 45mph and was hearing an unusual clicking like sound when I was getting to higher revs and then one minute I heard something like a bolt fall from under the car and immediately after the engine started to lose power, the gas pedal wasn’t giving it gas. Then there was smoke everywhere and oil/water leaking out the bottom of the engine.
It is still not starting anyone have any ideas what it could be? It’s a 2000 Vauxhall Astra mk4, 1.6 8v.

[Caldo]

Also the oil pressure light was on a day or two before it happened

[Stuart Masson]

It’s entirely possible that the sump plug was loose and eventually fell out, which would explain the oil pressure light (oil was leaking out) and then the smoke/oil/banging. Or there could have been a leak somewhere in the system, which was allowing oil to leak out until there was none left.

Next time you get an oil pressure warning on your dashboard, you might want to investigate it rather than waiting for your engine to inevitably blow up.

[Author]

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