Hi folks,
I'm new here, thanks for having me. I've owned a 2014 Octavia Tdi vRS estate since 2018. It's just tipped over 100000 miles, of which I've done about half. I realised this week that it has a leak of either oil or diesel under the bonnet. I noticed a fine spray of fresh black fluid on the engine bay just behind what I think are the fuel injectors (at the rear of the bay, just right of centre). I may be wrong about what I'm looking at as I have never taken interest in the engine details before. I also realised that the foam on the bonnet underside was contaminated - if wiped with a paper towel it comes off black. And, looking with a torch, there is some black residue lower down, presumably from the same leak site but I can't be sure.
I have never noticed any leakage beneath the car on the road/driveway. It has always used a little oil (I top it up about twice a year) but I haven't noticed any recent change in the rate it uses it, or a very obvious change in performance (at Easter we took it to France and didn't notice anything untoward).
I've booked in for a local engine specialist to investigate but I've never used them before, so I was hoping someone on here might have information that could help me be more confident in what they might tell me and that they don't mislead me. Common faults and potential fixes, any easy ways to check a diagnosis, etc.
Many thanks!