This may be a daft question, but have just picked up a 1998 Polo 1.4 and noticed that the gearbox and driveshafts are covered in oil. Jacked the car up this morning to try and isolate the leak. No joy so thought I would turn the engine on to see if any leaks were evident and the front wheel that was jacked up was turning even though the box was in neutral. I may be being stupid, but surely this is not normal?? Still can't track the leak down, although the previous owner did have the clutch changed a couple of weeks ago. Anyone any ideas??

Yes,its normal. Friction in the differential's planet wheels add a tiny amount of drive to the lifted wheel - but you can stop the wheel with your hand (if its spinning fast,it wont stop too easily due to the weight of the wheel),and it'll only take your little finger to hold it stopped.

Yes,its normal. Friction in the differential's planet wheels add a tiny amount of drive to the lifted wheel - but you can stop the wheel with your hand (if its spinning fast,it wont stop too easily due to the weight of the wheel),and it'll only take your little finger to hold it stopped.

Thanks for that - although I had the wheel off, it was the hub that was spinning around and going quickly too! Still havn't tracked down the leak and am going to have to get into a garage to get it up on a ramp to see what is going on.