Diesel Leak

[octestatlad]

Hello,

I wondered if I could get help for this issue. As a new member to the forum, I'm not able to go onto the FREEDOM section of the forums, so I'll post my tech query here. Recently, as I got out of my car, a 1.9TDI Octavia Estate, I could smell diesel. Also, patches would appear on the drive, confirming some sort of leak.

When I had a look underneath, almost directly under the driver's seat, there is a cover protecting pipes running into what looks like a fuel heater. From there, drops of diesel were forming where the seals were. My dad and I had a closer look, but we couldn't remove the pipe by hand, plus we haven't got the tools to do the job.

At the moment I'm unsure how serious the leak is, there appears to be no effects on performance and mileage. But due to the very high cost of fuel, I don't want some of it to be draining away! Me and my dad thought the O ring fitting had simply worn out through its 124,000 miles of use. For this problem, should I go to a garage or Skoda dealership? I don't want to spend so much money on what appears to be a small replacement fitting.

Quick and useful responses would be much appreciated

[mbames]

Not sure where the fuel heater is - I would have expected it to have been closer to the engine (after the filter at least). I wonder if you might have scuffed the pipes on the ground at somepoint? Do they look to be fine?

[octestatlad]

The pipes look fine. The heater is almost directly behind the front right wheel arch. When I took the cover off, which is plastic and had no scuff on, it was filled with road debris (gravel, bits of tyres, etc) but I doubt that can cause the seal to break.

[mbames]

Picture might help. Sorry, I am not familiar with the diesel fuel pipes (something which has not failed on mine - yet!)

[fordfan]

It's not a fuel heater, more the opposite - a fuel cooler. Presumably it's a PD engine where any excess fuel is returned to the tank, by the high pressure nature of the PD system the fuel gets quite warm and needs to be cooled to avoid damaging the plastic fuel tank.

The cooler resembles a small radiator and seems reasonably exposed under the car, so it might have sustained some damage from flying stones. It's possible that the leak could be worse at speed as the return rate to the tank may be higher.

The PD engine has been out for a while, so this sort of problem should be within the capabilities of any competent garage to fix.

[rwbaldwin]

It's not a fuel heater, more the opposite - a fuel cooler. Presumably it's a PD engine where any excess fuel is returned to the tank, by the high pressure nature of the PD system the fuel gets quite warm and needs to be cooled to avoid damaging the plastic fuel tank.

The cooler resembles a small radiator and seems reasonably exposed under the car, so it might have sustained some damage from flying stones. It's possible that the leak could be worse at speed as the return rate to the tank may be higher.

The PD engine has been out for a while, so this sort of problem should be within the capabilities of any competent garage to fix.

+1

If it's the heat diffuser that is holed, then it is about £150 for the part.

If it's leaking from the hose then it's about £60 for a new hose set.

[mbames]

Cool, well you learn something new every day. I assume the 90, and 110 don't have this extra bit to go wrong as they are non-PD?

[rwbaldwin]

Cool, well you learn something new every day. I assume the 90, and 110 don't have this extra bit to go wrong as they are non-PD?

Correct.

[octestatlad]

It is indeed a PD engine, from an L&K edition. I genuinely was not aware such a difference between the standard to the PD engine, so thanks fordfan for that. And £60 replacement isn't too costly considering the benefits of fixing the part. Thanks for the help

[KenONeill]

On the point of "why you can't post in Freedom section (or For Sale and Ask a Tech fora)", it's because you're not a Freedom member. See where your (and my details say "Group: Members", and rwbaldwin's says "Group: FREEDOM"; that's because he's paid £12 to activate Freedom, and have those fora unlocked for him.