Leaking Diesel on Cylinder Head

Hey Guys,

I just had a Land Rover shipped to me from my Dad in the UK to me in the USA. We had just purchased the vehicle so we don't have many miles on it before it arrived on my doorstep.

Since driving it a fair bit over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that there is a lot of diesel coating the injector area, the fuel lines are pretty soaked, as are the returns. Obviously the drivers side of the engine is pretty saturated, to the point where it drips onto the ground after a drive.

So my question is where is the leak coming from? Is there a gasket under the injector on the 200tdi? Or are there fittings I should check for the fuel delivery or return lines?

I attached a pic - as far as i can tell the first and last injectors seem to be the worst.

Any tips would be very well appreciated!

Can you see any leaks/mist when it's running?

Hicap phill said:

Can you see any leaks/mist when it's running?

Click to expand...

I was going to try that but it was so soaked when I got home last night I wanted to wait until I could clean it off and then watch it at idle.

It was steaming pretty good, but I think that was because the diesel was running down the side of the block.

Could be either loose injector pipe or the spill rail.
Check them all for tightness. Don't go too mad
(Normally runs rough if it's the injectors though)

Hicap phill said:

Could be either loose injector pipe or the spill rail.
Check them all for tightness. Don't go too mad
(Normally runs rough if it's the injectors though)

Click to expand...

ok thanks - I will try that and report back tomorrow!

Hicap phill said:

Could be either loose injector pipe or the spill rail.
Check them all for tightness. Don't go too mad
(Normally runs rough if it's the injectors though)

Click to expand...

By spill rail do you mean the fuel returns (black hoses)?
I just talked to the car dealer that sold us the landy and they said that it's more than likely those hoses and just to replace them. It sounds like it's better to do that than to try and find the whole assembly somewhere.

I had a similar thing recently, poor girl looked like she had peed herself while resting.
It was the centrerspill pipe that had worn through and was dripping diesel down onto the injector,
though you couldn't see where because of the woven cover on the pipe.
I had a cast around at work and replaced all of them with some 6x4mm Polyurethane tube usually used for pneumatics (closest Imperial would be 5/32 bore if you can get it).
Worked a treat and cost nowt.
All the best

Edit - For what it's worth my spill pipes arched over the top in sequence, like Loch Ness monster. That arrangement in the photo looks a bit home-made to me..

+1 not seen that pipe system before.
You can buy new as a replacement
From most sites.

Yes to the black plastic pipe this may be the leak

There are two types of 200Tdi spill pipes, that’s the earlier one. Later ones were flexible braided fuel hose.

I believe they were changed because the nylon semi-rigid lines come loose through vibration over time. Mine certainly do anyway.

Retroanaconda said:

There are two types of 200Tdi spill pipes, that’s the earlier one. Later ones were flexible braided fuel hose.

I believe they were changed because the nylon semi-rigid lines come loose through vibration over time. Mine certainly do anyway.

Click to expand...

What he says! Mine look just like that and also have a habit of coming loose over time.

On the plus side it cleans the engine nicely! Lol

Hey guys, I wanted to reach out but I didn't want to jinx anything.

It turned out those spill pipes were very loose on the first and last cylinder. I snugged them up a bit and it hasn't leaked at all since.

Thanks for all your help!