My 300tdi has been losing a little coolant since i bought it. I discovered what may be the cause.

As I don't have a haynes manual, I assume there is a gasket failure between the cast block and the alloy front bit. I'm a little concerned as there is a fair bit of corrosion. Is this common to this engine?

I have a new timing belt and a water pump( not that I suspect the water pump, but I've heard it's a common failure point) to fit. I will attempt to rectify this leak then.

Looks like the p gasket has failed. I've just done mine, took a couple of hours.

same as veduk said looks like the "P" gasket