Originally Posted by Rowe

it is possible that they are related, however i would think that the glow plugs would be more likely to cause the sluggish start....... unless you've already replaced them

the smell of diesel will be the leak

ideally you need to fix the leak (this may be a seal)
if it doesn't fix your sluggish start then you need to investigate elsewhere (maybe take it to a garage and get them to test the glow plugs)