VW Caddy Leaking!

[J-Cam]

I need your help and advice again! Remember I'm a girl that doesn't know much about cars, I just like them.

Yesterday my friend (who I think I can say knows less than me) bought a 2014 Volkswagen Caddy 1.6 Diesel van, its done about 115K. Everything seemed fine when we test drove it, left it running for ages and drove it back 40ish miles to London.

Then today he says smoke is coming out of the engine bay but I didn't get to see it myself. So we leave it to cool down for an hour or so, I check the obvious fluid levels are ok before I start it up again and I put some cardboard on the road, underneath the engine.

I had it running for about 7 minutes and when I got on the floor to look underneath I saw that there were drops of something leaking out of the near side of the engine, about a drop a second, so I turned it off.

I pulled the cardboard out to look at the fluid and although I've never had a diesel and actually have no idea if it smells like petrol, it smelt and felt like fuel, not oil.

I did also notice a couple of drops of what seems like oil more to the offside.

I didn't get to see the smoke coming out myself as i though it best to just stop it.

I've attached a diagram to hopefully show what sort of area these drops were coming from.

I would be greatful for any advice on what it possibly could be will be and our next steps. Could it be serious or minor? My friend doesn't know if he should be taking the van back to the private seller he bought it from or not.

Thanks!

Jane

[GreenV8S]

You mention that's it was bought from a private seller, which means there is no warranty unless one was explicitly stated in the sale contract. In the absence of a warranty there's no point trying to take it back to the seller since they have no liability.

If the drips you mention are continuous at that rate then there is a significant leak which needs to be addressed. I suggest taking it to a reliable local garage for an investigation. It may only be a trivial problem, but if it's something more serious the sooner you know about it the better.

[J-Cam]

Hi,

Thanks for your response. He is taking it to a garage tomorrow but with it being Sunday and not having breakdown cover there wasn’t much we could do today.
I understand you wouldn’t want to say what the problem is without looking at it yourself but I was hoping to find out if that sort of symptom/problem could sometimes be a simple fix like a broken hose / pipe or is it likely to always be something serious?
Thanks again!
Jane
X

[J-Cam]

Sorry I just reread your message and you answered my question already by saying it could be trivial!

Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

Cheers
X

[blue_haddock]

I'm not 100% but the oil coolers are really common for failing.

If you join some of the caddy groups on Facebook there are lots of people who know them inside out.

[J-Cam]

Thanks I will do!

[J-Cam]

Hi,

Thanks everyone for your help! It turned out to be the diesel injector return pipes and while we ordered the part the mechanic temporarily fixed it with a cable tie. Ooh I love cable ties and gaffa tape! And Armour All.
The VW dealership was very strange today with all of the social distancing measures. They also didn't want to let a guy come in unless he seemed to have enough money to be worth their while. £15K wasn't enough and they shouted at him when he pushed his way through the doors after.
At first they wouldn't let me in but I shouted through the crack I'd already ordered and paid.....

Jane
x