Colourful Fluid On Ground

[MakaveliX]

Car had been parked for a couple of days, this morning I took the car out, when I came back I noticed this fluid infront of the car ( in front of where it had been parked, not underneath the car )
I assume as I drove off something must have spilled.
Oil levels are fine, I am concerned it is fuel but it has no smell. Last job was a fuel filter change last Thursday.

It has no smell to it, any ideas ?

[Time4another]

Oil from your filter change

[cliffords]

That is likely to be something spilled a few days ago in the dry , now visible as it has rained.

[epom]

Unicorn wee ?

[Acorn1]

Looks like petrol

[Louis Balfour]

epom said:

Unicorn wee ?

Very good.

[MakaveliX]

Acorn1 said:

Looks like petrol

Think so as the economy slightly dropped this morning. I’ll check the hoses to the fuel filter over the weekend

[E-bmw]

Time4another said:

Oil from your filter change

Or fuel from the fuel filter change even.

[epom]

Louis Balfour said:

epom said:

Unicorn wee ?

Very good.

Only saying it from experience with two young girls and a slight oil leak on herself's car.

[TwinKam]

MakaveliX said:

Acorn1 said:

Looks like petrol

Think so as the economy slightly dropped this morning. I’ll check the hoses to the fuel filter over the weekend

Don't wait until the weekend. Do it today.

[MakaveliX]

It’s a project car so will be sat on the drive until I check it at the weekend . Not the daily driver

[4Q]

If that’s tarmac and you don’t do something about it it will start to break up fairly quickly

[donkmeister]

4Q said:

If that’s tarmac and you don’t do something about it it will start to break up fairly quickly

Do you mean the tarmac will break up because of a tiny splash of fuel?

You'd need a lot more than that to soften/wash the bitumen sufficiently that aggregate starts to get knocked out of the surface.

[4Q]

donkmeister said:

Do you mean the tarmac will break up because of a tiny splash of fuel?

You'd need a lot more than that to soften/wash the bitumen sufficiently that aggregate starts to get knocked out of the surface.

If it’s dripping fuel as suggested above it will dissolve the tarmac.

[GreenV8S]

MakaveliX said:

I noticed this fluid infront of the car ( in front of where it had been parked, not underneath the car )

Marks where you didn't park are unlikely to have come from the car. Park on a different spot and see if you get any further evidence of a leak.

[MakaveliX]

GreenV8S said:

Marks where you didn't park are unlikely to have come from the car. Park on a different spot and see if you get any further evidence of a leak.

Waited for the weather to dry, took the car out and no sign of leaks. Fuel filter is dry with no sign of fuel anywhere it shouldn't be.
I think that some rain and fuel ( from when I did the fuel filter ) last week splashed out of the undertray as I drove off yesterday morning

When I came home yesterday all of the above rainbow had cleared up.

Edited by MakaveliX on Thursday 5th September 15:46

[MakaveliX]

Today, a suspicious slightly white patch appeared under the car. The whole of the underside is dry, however the sump which holds the ATF appears to be quite greasy and potentially has a minor leak.
I will buy a dipstick, check the levels and take it from there.

Good chance its ATF fluid due to a worn gasket but I will have to investigate.

[donkmeister]

4Q said:

donkmeister said:

Do you mean the tarmac will break up because of a tiny splash of fuel?

You'd need a lot more than that to soften/wash the bitumen sufficiently that aggregate starts to get knocked out of the surface.

If it’s dripping fuel as suggested above it will dissolve the tarmac.

Ah... I read the OP as saying he'd spilt fuel when doing the fuel filter rather than it being an ongoing leak.

I know that I've never changed a fuel filter without spilling some petrol in the process, these days I use blue roll and a glass bowl to try and catch any but I've definitely spilt it on the ground before.

[Krikkit]

Get sheet(s) of cardboard under the car so you can find where it's dripping from

[MakaveliX]

Just an update.
The fluid was in-fact automatic transmission fluid, leaking out of a £10 plug " pilot bushing " which prevents ATF going to electrical components.
Job took about 1 hour and seems fine now.

Turns out it's a common cause of leaks on early Mercedes cars.