Freelander 1 TD4 Crazy Amount of Blue Smoke After Idling

Developed a sudden problem with the Freelander where if the engine has been idling for >~2minutes, when pulling off there is a very large amount of blueish smoke. Checked the oil 2 weeks ago as it is nearing being due a change and it was mid way between the low and full marks on the dipstick - checked today, absolutely nothing. Took 4.5 litres before back at full, so can only assume this is oil it's burning.

There's no smoke at all during normal driving and I can floor it with full turbo boost and its absolutely fine - no smoke. There's also no noticeable loss in power or rough running either at idle or under power. However, sitting idle for more than a couple of minutes causes huge amount of blue smoke (enough to make it look foggy in the area) when pulling off or even just revving up in neutral. This happens as soon as you touch the accelerator so just 200revs or so above idle, but no smoke actually when idling. This clears after a minute or so of normal driving and won't return until its left to idle for a while again. There's no rough running and other than the smoke you'd never know anything was wrong.

Most posts on the forum talk about injector issues, but I'm pretty sure this is oil its burning due to the colour of the smoke and low oil level. Could it just be an oil leak into the exhaust system somewhere as there are no other symtoms? Most other suggestions are potentially fatal (turbo/valve stems seals).

I've got a full service kit arriving this week (including crankcase breather filter), but can anyone give me some pointers as to what might be the issue? It has come on suddenly - within the last few days - and isn't something that's been developing/getting worse over time. Could it be as simple as a blocked crankcase breather?

I have also just noticed there's a slight diesel leak coming from the front-offside as I can see it dripping. Not pinpointed it exactly but so far am assuming thats just coincidence and isn't related - but happy to be corrected!

When was the crankcase filter last changed?

The diesel leak sound like it could be the high pressure fuel pump, check your antifreeze is it clear, or is there signs of emulsion in it, are you sure it's diesel leaking and not oil from from the oil cooler, can you get some photos up for us.

Only had the car for about 9 months and service history is limited to the occasional batch of generic filters bought from local motor shops. No mention of a breather filter so there’s a chance it’s not been changed for a long time. It’s just rolled onto 150k.

I’ll get some photos tonight. Pretty sure the leak is diesel as it’s clear and smells very strongly of diesel. Will also have a look in the coolant and report back.

Diesel leak can be the HP pump or a fuel pipe next to the battery.

I'd be looking at the crankcase filter first. It could be blocked or even missing.
I'd also be checking how much oil is in the boost hoses. Lots of oil could be an indicator that the turbo oil seal is worn out, especially if it's an original with 150k on the clock.

Well, crankcase filter has been replaced. It was totally clogged and the smoking issue seems to be much improved, although not totally gone when 3000rpm+. I'm hoping there's just still a lot of oil residue working its way through the induction system.

One of the torx bolts holding on the crankcase breather filter housing was totally stripped - may explain why nobody had changed it in a long time. In getting it out I've acidentally cracked the housing on the other side of the filter (where the pressure release valve is). There isn't exactly a gaping hole, but it's not airtight any more. How much of a problem would this be? Can I ignore it, can it be driven for a few weeks whilst I get a new one or is this a no-drive issue until fixed?

It's not ideal having an air leak in the crankcase vent cover. Unfortunately it's integrated into the valve cover, so that would need replacing, if the screw can't be repaired.

I've seen intercoolers half full of oil, which could well be where the smoke at higher RPM is from.