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thank you for your help. i am thinking big end seal, it leaks when not in use and, although the oil has got everywhere, now that it has been sat for a while it definitely seems to be coming from somewhere lower the the rocker gasket or the head as the amount of oil is so much greater lower down. turbo oil pipe work would be quite easy to get fixed, again too high up. I have been reading that a big end seal redo is a major job. if it is this is the car going to catastrophically fail as long as i keep it topped up? how much would it cost to get done or does anyone want to give us a hand doing it? I read this https://www.205gtidrivers.com/forums/topic/175147-turbo-diesel-big-end-seal-leak/
which is for a similar engine to mine.
tmevans-
I'd agree with @Hefty, if it is the RMS it could be cheap compared to modern car pricing. I paid £500 for sump gasket, rear main seal, cam seals, water pump, and timing belt on my MX5 so I'd expect it to be similar pricing on yours, whatever you can budget for, get it done while the engine and box are apart.
With that said, do pay someone an hour to have a look at where they think it might be coming from before just getting expensive stuff changed.
If you want to do some investigation yourself, spend a couple of hours cleaning up the block with degreaser and good old fashioned scrubbing so that any fresh oil leaks can be exposed more easily.
However, it's not going to catastrophically fail if it's a minor leak. Just keep topping it up and you could be fine for years. If the leak gets worse and worse then it's time to investigate.
NurseHolliday
I'm assuming that an XUD9 is fitted transversely, so do you mean behind the sump when looking at what is actually the front of the engine or do you mean behind the sump when looking from the front of the car?
If the former, I'd suggest rear main seal because behind the sump is the gearbox and the rear main seal keeps oil in the rear of the engine (hence the name.)
If the latter, it looks like the exhaust side is the back of the engine bay, so it could be rocker/cam cover gasket is leaking and oil is dripping down the engine all the way - you should be able to see evidence of that. Or as the turbo is also in that location which is most likely oil cooled, the turbo oil pipework could be leaking.