Well, we had planned to pull over for a few days and to post about our test run so far with the new engine, but as of half an hour ago, not so much.
Story so far is we've travelled up as far as Newcastle, about 150km north of Sydney so far, with quite a few detours along the way, with a few minor issues but nothing worth mentioning. However, about half an hour ago while driving to get a bite to eat, I started getting a squeak from somewhere under the bonnet, which has quickly turned into knocking and vibration, particularly noticeable at low revs, i.e. idle and just above. It smooths out at higher revs. I've parked up and checked under the bonnet, and I'm getting gas from the dipstick - horribly similar to the blowby I was getting on the 300tdi that just got taken out due to the engine being cooked. Can't give much more in the line of symptoms as I've not pushed the engine any further than pulling over at the first place I could get internet, but there were no overheats, no drops in oil pressure, and considering that I was testing out the engine, gauges were watched religiously.
Suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated at this stage, am hoping that someone can please tell me that I couldn't be this unlucky twice in a row, but at the moment I'm suspecting the worst....