headgasket leaking

[m5 sjs]

Hi, my headgasket is leaking oil from under the vacume pump area,there does not seem to be any oil getting into the coolent,my question is can i retorque the head replacing the bolts with new bolts one at a time to see can i stop the leak,or is there somthing else i can try,ps when i start the car in the morning ie when it is cold the ilde is lumpy until it warms up,i have replaced all 6 glowplugs,could this be just the coldstart device not working correctly.
Thanks for your help

[ngoma]

I would check closely the vacuum pump-to-head o-ring seal before condemning the head gasket. That large thin o-ring can easily fall out of position, get twisted, worn flat, someone may have gunked it up with sealant, etc. IOW, oil leaking from under the vacuum pump = high probability that it is the vac pump mounting seal that is leaking. You should be able to clean the area, then run the car a bit, and use a mirror and flashlight to look up under there and identify exactly where the oil is leaking from.

If you take out the vac pump, loosen the lower nut first, to avoid breaking off the lower mounting ear. And replace the actuator shaft in the same orientation. It will want to slide out so catch it before it does and replace it with the same end riding on the camshaft. Most easily done with engine at TDC.

[m5 sjs]

Originally Posted by ngoma

I would check closely the vacuum pump-to-head o-ring seal before condemning the head gasket. That large thin o-ring can easily fall out of position, get twisted, worn flat, someone may have gunked it up with sealant, etc. IOW, oil leaking from under the vacuum pump = high probability that it is the vac pump mounting seal that is leaking. You should be able to clean the area, then run the car a bit, and use a mirror and flashlight to look up under there and identify exactly where the oil is leaking from.

If you take out the vac pump, loosen the lower nut first, to avoid breaking off the lower mounting ear. And replace the actuator shaft in the same orientation. It will want to slide out so catch it before it does and replace it with the same end riding on the camshaft. Most easily done with engine at TDC.

Thanks for your reply will check the vacume pump seal,cheers