Hi there, this is my first post here and I am a car noob in need of some help.

I have a Focus mk1 1.4 (W Reg, 136,000 miles) which has been burning more oil than is ideal for the last year or so. I've been told by the garage we use that it's likely to be worn piston rings.

However, recently whilst driving home on the motorway I suffered a huge lack of power and I had to go very gently as whenever I gave it much throttle the engine sounded like a bag of spanners with a lot of knocking.

After this the engine would start then after 5 seconds the revs would drop and it cut out. I traced this to the MAF sensor which I cleaned and all was ok.

Until I changed the oil which contained what looks like very small gravel. I tested with a magnet and it's metal not gravel.

We cannot afford to replace the car, so I was wondering if anyone had a clue as to what the metal particles in the oil are.