Help! Sudden oil leak!

Can anyone tell me what would cause an oil to leak quite badly (dripping off the gearbox etc) from around the area of the exhaust manifold on a 300TDI?

I'm guessing the head gasket but, other than drips of oil, I haven't noticed anything else that would suggest the head gasket has gone.

I'm in Buxton, 2 1/2 hours from home so it would be good to know if I'm ok to continue driving around until I can find a garage to take a look next week.

Thank you,

Chris

What engine is it?
Could be: rocker gasket, turbo oil feed, head gasket

Any oil in the coolant, coolant in the oil??

Can you see where the oil is coming from with the engine running???

I can't see precisely where it's coming from. The side of the engine under the exhaust manifold is very wet with oil but the source appears to very high up...which I'm sure isn't particularly helpful!

There is no obvious increase in oil leaking when the engine is running and no sign of oil in the coolant or vice versa.

If its above the exhaust manifold it will probably be the rocker cover gasket leaking...

If its below the exhaust manifold it could be the head gasket or turbo oil feed/ return pipe connections...

If the leak is as bad as you say it needs sorting before you drive any distance

Looks most likely to be the rocker cover gasket then. Thank you for your help.. I guess I will get onto the phone to the AA and see what try can do to sort it.

Cheers

Chris

You got a 13mm spanner??

Tighten the cover down using the 3 captive bolts on the cover and order a gasket off ebay asap...

Check if you're getting bubbles in your expansion tank to see if its the head gasket? You sure it's not your actual gearbox that's leaking?

Well, the AA guy wasn't a great help and went away claiming there was nothing wrong (despite seeing oil dripping on the floor), but he did clean the oil off the engine so I'm now in a better position to see where it's coming from. I'm pretty sure that it's the rocker cover gasket, due to a covering of oil down from the rocker cover, but I will check in the morning to see if any oil has appeared where the AA guy cleaned.

To make things more complicated, the gearbox has had a small leak for a while, but not enough to worry about, so I'm having to try to differentiate between the gearbox leak and the new oil leak.

And to add to the fun, I'm in the middle of nowhere with a terrible phone signal!

How much of a leak are we talking Don't forget its a Landy How much oil has it leaked/used

Im just thinking that someone not used to Landys would **** thereself looking under most Landys, where as they are just 'normally' leaking/like that

Hmmm... Well it's definitely leaking but I can't for the life of me figure out where from!

The oil in this pic has leaked from somewhere in around 3 hours of driving (the area was totally clean this morning):



And this is the oil covering the side of the engine under the exhaust manifold:




Any thoughts?

There are no bubbles in the expansion tank and no smoke from the dispstick/oil filler cap. If I take the cap off when the engine is running there is pressure blowing out, which is normal... right?

Could a cracked inlet manifold gasket cause this much of a mess?

I've ordered a replacement gasket just in case but I would be grateful for any other suggestions.

Seeing at the turbo leads to the inlet and that's where oil can come from I'd check that if you have a turbo , I don't know you haven't said what you got or a photo would help my crystal ball battery's are flat

could still be rocker cover gasket

but to be honest: that's a very tidy engine! dont see no leak there, or i'm just used to landies already

it's always the question of whats less hassle: filling it up every x miles or repairing it once and filling it up less often anyway

philvy said:

could still be rocker cover gasket

but to be honest: that's a very tidy engine! dont see no leak there, or i'm just used to landies already

it's always the question of whats less hassle: filling it up every x miles or repairing it once and filling it up less often anyway

Click to expand...

Could be but I'm sure you would see that by what he has said its comming out off a gasket?? More info needed as always .

Oh my fault thought that was a first post eek

defender300td1 said:

Oh my fault thought that was a first post eek

Click to expand...

I did wonder if you had missed the pics!

There doesn't appear to be any oil coming down from the rocker cover, but I guess it could be burning off and only pooling further down?

My concern is more that there was absolutely no oil on my driveway last week so this is definitely a new leak. I wouldn't have been so worried if it has always been that way.

well, i KNOW my rocker cover gasket leaks, but you cant see where. You'd rather assume it's the head gesket at the front end drivers side, but that's for those without a years experience with that leak.
now i mention it, maybe i should name the leak patrick.

btw, i'm just too skint to change the gasket. and too lazy. and, well, just #### it

Chr1s said:

I did wonder if you had missed the pics!

There doesn't appear to be any oil coming down from the rocker cover, but I guess it could be burning off and only pooling further down?

My concern is more that there was absolutely no oil on my driveway last week so this is definitely a new leak. I wouldn't have been so worried if it has always been that way.

Click to expand...

Would not say its rocker the gasket seems to clean. clean it up and go for a short run you should be able to spot it

if that's the exhaust manlyfolly sitting high, it may be that(well, the gasket anyway). cant remember which was higher.

id say its manifold gasket