New Td4 problems - inc. oil from prop

Hi all,

I've just purchased a Td4 second hand a have a few problems:

There is oil leaking from the front of the prop shaft, which sprays in an ark underneath the car during rotation at speed and drips on the ground after running. The guy I bought it from did some work on the car before I got it including "changing the front prop rubber bush" (his words) so I'm wondering if that has something to do with it. I've attached some pictures in the hope this helps.

There was is also a water drip under the car coming from what i think is an rubber over flow pipe from A/C - however I haven't had the A/C on, is this something to be worried about?

Cheers in Advance,
Rob

The prop issue is a split or badly fitting gaiter - the rubber bit over the CV joint. You'll almost definitely need a new one and replace the CV grease (its not oil).

Thanks for the reply, I'll have a look closer tomorrow, could you point out on the image which part I should be paying attention to?

I assumed it was oil based on the fact it seemed runnier than grease would be on the ground, just warm suppose!

There was is also a water drip under the car coming from what i think is an rubber over flow pipe from A/C - however I haven't had the A/C on, is this something to be worried about?

Click to expand...

take into account .. the A.C. will be 'on' .. if ..
cab fan air route settings are for ' screen ' or ' screen+footwell '
regardless if the main AC switch is 'on' or 'off'

and yes .. if the AC is used .. condensation water will drip from its' rubber over flow pipe

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RobWo said:

Thanks for the reply, I'll have a look closer tomorrow, could you point out on the image which part I should be paying attention to?

I assumed it was oil based on the fact it seemed runnier than grease would be on the ground, just warm suppose!

Click to expand...

Erm, I don't think there are to many rubber bits in that pic - in fact I think there's a total of 1. That might be enough info to go by, if not, its the black rubber bit.

People usually think its oil, but it is grease - just thinned over years of work and, as you say, heat.

I had a similar pattern from a split drive shaft gaiter. It looked like oil on mine too. A few things spring to mind.
He was lying about having replaced the gaiter so if you spotted the leak he was covered (This would explain the grease being like oil due to age).
He replaced it so recently the residue is still there. (Not likely cause it is still dripping)
He replaced it but didn't do a very good job (See first point)
Any of the above but he was talking about the propshaft support bearing or the rear diff support bush not the gaiter you photographed, and possibly damaged the gaiter while doing it. BTW there are three rear diff support bushes and the front one is the one which goes most often.

Also worth noting the front support bush for the rear diff I mentioned lasted around 5k miles on my car possibly due to the severely stiff VCU causing drive train wind up, so if you haven't checked your VCU you really should.