Question regarding engine block leak...

[ventureforth]

So, I am a very recent, very proud owner of a salvaged '82 Rabbit Diesel L Custom.  It's a little white Rabbit.  I've been a Golf owner for many years, but this is my first Rabbit.  Yes, I'm very happy.  It's a 1.6NA (which is a lot more fun to drive than I expected), but my plan is to put a 1.9TD in there (I already have the AAZ left over from another project.  It's in great shape and has Bosio GTD nozzles already in place).  Anyway, I've been driving it around for a couple of weeks now, and just the other day I noticed small puddles collecting under the engine.  What caused me to notice was the strong odor of diesel fuel in my garage after parking.  So, today when I drove it around a bit and stopped, I immediately opened the hood to see where the leak might be coming from.  It's a very small leak, but it's basically a small sputtering of fluid at the corner of the engine block where it meets the head (driver side front corner, not that it necessarily matters).

I'm guessing it's a cracked or damaged head gasket?

I've experienced no loss of power, no smoke, no overheating, no indication of anything wrong with the engine whatsoever aside from the leak itself.  My question is this... how long can I expect to drive like this before I'm stranded on the side of the road?  I'm reluctant to put any real money into the 1.6 (which I'm sure needs a rebuild) as a 1.9TD will be going in there soon enough.  That won't be happening for at least 2 or 3 weeks, though.  So, should I just drive on and hope it survives the next few weeks?  Should I immediately get the head removed, tested, gasket replaced, etc.?  Can I just put in some sort of sealant additive?

Any thoughts?  Suggestions?

Thanks.

[rs899]

IMO it is very unlikely that you have a head gasket leak (which would result in high coolant temps, oil in water/water in oil).  You most likely have a leaky injector or injector return line.  Any of your return lines look wet?  You might see something dripping with the car running.  This is probably not a big problem, other than the mess and smell- mine have been leaking for months...

Rick

[ventureforth]

Thanks for the advice.  Did some further investigation, and you were correct.  The leak is definitely at the injector.  It's the #4 injector (all the way towards the driver side).  It's leaking down to the seem, as you suggested.  Can't tell yet if it's the piping or the injector itself that's leaking.  Could it be the injector or line is just loose?  I'm thinking the PO was running it on ULSD for a long time without any additive.  This could negatively effect these IDIs, no?

Thanks again.

[ventureforth]

So I took a little video of the leak.  It appears to be coming out of the loose end of hose (return line) that comes out at the end of the last injector (all the way to the driver side).  What would cause this?

Here's a link to the video: http://guest.tripgould.com/Rabbit/

There's a QT (mp4) and AVI format depending on your capabilities.

Thoughts?

[theman53]

Dude, it looks like you don't even have a plug on that. Looks like the barb is just bare. It should either be plugged or it is the return line. I will try to find a pic of some good lines.

[ventureforth]

Way ahead of you on that one.  Since my last post I went out and picked up a cap to plug it.  The leak has stopped.  However, is that the way it's supposed to be, or is that hose end supposed to return to the pump and hook up to a "t" connector closing the loop?  Right now, the hoses go 4-3-2-1 and then back to the pump (as you could see in the video).  Is that open end line supposed to be capped (as I have done) or do I need to get another long bit of hose and a connector to feed it back into the loop at the IP?

Forgive my newness to all of this.  This is my first project car.  Up until now, I have had only modern Golfs, and I wouldn't even dream of working on a modern TDI.  Not only is it a PITA to do even simple things like change bulbs and filters and such (which I do) based on the way the engine bay is engineered, but all the electronics and computer controlled stuff scares me stiff.  Mechanical I'm good with, messes of wires and computer chips are not my thing.  The Rabbit is meant to be my introduction to auto repair and mods and such.  I'm still waiting on my Bentley manual.

Thanks again.

By the way, it might just be my imagination, but it felt like my acceleration improved after plugging up that end.  Does that make any sense?  Maybe it's just the Redline I added to my last batch of diesel starting to kick in.

[rabbid79]

Right now, the hoses go 4-3-2-1 and then back to the pump

You did it right.  Just cap off the last barb on the last injector.

[mystery3]

Way ahead of you on that one.  Since my last post I went out and picked up a cap to plug it.  The leak has stopped.  However, is that the way it's supposed to be, or is that hose end supposed to return to the pump and hook up to a "t" connector closing the loop?  Right now, the hoses go 4-3-2-1 and then back to the pump (as you could see in the video).  Is that open end line supposed to be capped (as I have done) or do I need to get another long bit of hose and a connector to feed it back into the loop at the IP?

It is supposed to be capped. I'm not extra familiar with the dynamics of the fuel return system but it's not overly complicated, just a few lines and a cap. The lines on mine were completely cracked and leaky when I got my truck, when I replaced them it seemed to improve idle.

[ventureforth]

Right now, I'm just using a small rubber nipple-style cap.  It seems to be holding.  Is there a specific cap I should be using.  It doesn't seem like much pressure is coming out of the barb, but there is no fastener holding the cap on beyond the tightness of it's own inner diameter.  Is there a better solution or will I be fine as is?

[theman53]

I usually put one BB -yes a BB from a little kids gun- into a short piece of return line. I put it in there so about 1/8" of hose is clear after the BB. Slip the hose on and it is done. Hose is only about 1.5" long total.