E53 Diesel Exhaust Leak

[Skier1]

Hi ,Has anybody had any issues with exhaust leaks around the exhaust manifold-turbo area on a E53 diesel .Mine has a relatively small exhaust gas leak but I am wanting to repair it before it gets worse ,today I removed as many covers as possible,air filter etc but still cannot locate the leak due to the amount of covers etc that cant be removed without dismantling the engine.Not sure if this may be a common issue or not as when I was looking to purchase this X5 almost all the others had a diesel soot mark around the A/C hose area that runs near the turbo.Also does the oil separator and EGR valve require replacement/cleaning on a regular basis ?