Can anyone please give me advise on what could be the cause of the noise in my engine? The mechanics are telling me that the engine sound is normal but I know for a fact (having driven the car since 96 when it was brand new) that it is far from normal. This is the first time that this has happened and I really want to solve the problem.

I noticed that it is not silent anymore unlike before that I can't tell the difference if the engine is running or not. Now it feels as though the car is at low idling like less than 800 although it is still actually at 1,000 which is how it has been from the start. The bad sound of the engine started when my AC compressor started making noise. I just bought a brand new Denso AC compressor this Monday and thought that it would solve the problem and yet the engine still sounds bad. Could it be that the engine got damaged because I waited a long time (3 months) to have the compressor replaced?

Since the new compressor didn't solve the problem, the next day I went to a mechanic and told him my concerns. He checked the transmission support and told me that all four were cracked. Although as I understand in the past threads that the nginig when the transmission support is cracked is for the entire car. The nginig in my car is just the engine or it is not tahimik anymore. Regardless, I will have the supports replaced.

I also have been running my car on low oil (exactly on the low marker) for I don't know how long. I was due for my 5,000 km change oil when I saw it so I quickly added fresh oil (I always stock up on change oil parts) It was the first time that I experienced my car losing engine oil. I was really surprised because there are no oil marks in our garage. I already had the cam oil seal, crank oil seal and valve oil seal replaced yesterday. I am having the oil changed tomorrow since I am running between full and low oil. Could running on minimum oil level damaged my engine and caused it to become noisy?

Your reply will be much appreciated.