Hi Forum,

A few months back i bought a black 07 (170,000miles) Golf mk5 GT tdi 140 5dr. Amazing car. I bought it mainly for commuting (430miles a week) and for trips mountain biking. Went for the mk5 5dr over a caddy.

It wasn't long until i noticed a little wet patch on my drive and i got under the car last week to see evidence of oil coming in from somewhere but i cannot locate the leak.

Engine oil level is good and isn't dropping, coolant level is good, brake/hydraulic fluid level is high and isn't dropping.

The car drives well with no issues but every time i look underneath i can see a few drips spread across the bottom of the gearbox, the bog bone link, and i think the subframe (Underneath the steering rack).

The suspect "oil" feels thin and doesn't have a distinct smell. It smells like a diesel engine smell to it. I know this is a terrible description but i guess i mean the smell isn't particularly strong. I think the vacuum pump on the R/H side of the engine is leaking but this oil underneath the car looks clean. Not sure if its coming from the bell hsg join and is then spreading underneath the car. The car doesn't have an undertray fitted.

When i looked through the service history back at 155,600miles in 2019 the garage that did the service entered a comment saying "Gearbox leak" but didn't give anything else.

Does anyone have any ideas as i can't really narrow it down. When i was under the car i felt around both driveshafts and couldn't feel any wetness there.

I'm not sure if these images have become inverted? Apologies if so.

Thanks in advance

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