@Caddyman: /agree
From the keyboard, we’re all just making educated guesses by the comments you provide. Obviously, we haven’t seen the motor, so we can’t make a final fitness determination.
I did have a friend with a minor rod knock in a car…he drove it for 5 years and sold it. So just because it’s knocking, doesn’t mean you can’t continue with it. Having said that, with his you had to listen for it…it wasn’t so loud you could hear it in the cabin. The fact that the sound doesn’t change whether under load or not is hopeful, though. It may run like this for a while.
But get it checked out.
Chase