unidentified oil leak...

[tobeee]

Just got back from hols (snowboarding in Austria - fantastic!) and opened the garage door to be met by a pool of oil. I can't get close enough under the car (1997 5.0 Chim) to see where it's coming from, but it had dripped over and next to the front driver side wheel. It looks to be very clean oil (sort of pale red colour if that means anything) and made a puddle of maybe half a pint. I did start the car move it onto the driveway, and no oil lights showed, the car sounded normal and the 1st and reverse gears engaged without problem.

Can anyone give me a clue as to what this is, what's broken, and how much money am I going to wish I hadn't squandered on a holiday! Thanks in advance.

[llanelli-rob]

RED?

Powersteering oil?

Check the level asap!

[ntel]

Could be clutch fluid if it has dripped on the wheel. You could take off the inspection hatch and check the hoses, level etc.

[jonnyb]

If it is red then the only red fluid I can think of on the car is the gearbox ATF fluid. I don't have PAS so I don't know what colour that is. But clutch fluid is the same as the brakes and is a pale straw colour.

[petros]

Had the same with mine and It's the P A S pipe ( They all do that sir ) which is being changed at the moment.

[tobeee]

So far I'm hoping petros is right, as a broken pipe sounds the cheapest to fix! If it is the PAS system, will it need bleeding once fixed, or just pour in new fluid? I'll flick through the bible for some clues on where to look, and have another poke around tomorrow...

[kenny chim 4]

If it were engine oil it would be golden or brown/dark brown in colour. I'd say it's PAS fluid (which is commonly automatic gearbox lubricant) and, from what you say, could be leaking from just under the PAS reservoir- on the top of the engine, offside.

It's self air bleeding btw

[tobeee]

The plot thickens... I've just been crawling around peeking under the car looking for signs of oil/fluid leaks, and can't find any obvious marks. I checked the PAS and brake fluid reservoirs, and they both appear to have the correct amount. I checked the engine oil level last night, and that too was correct (and darker than the stuff I found on the floor!). I had another look at the puddle, and it definitely has a pinkish sort of colour. I really need ramps to be able to investigate closer.

The leak had definitely landed on the tyre as I could see the oil on the tyre tread before I moved the car out of the garage. I've never had any oil leaks previously, and have regularly checked my garage/driveway and usual workplace parking space for signs, so this is something that has occured whilst it's been locked away for the week. Do you think it was crying cos it missed me?

Any further advice would be most appreciated, as I'm running out of ideas! I'm also reluctant to start/drive the car in case it causes damage, so the only option might be to get my rescue service to take it to David Batty, but he might not want it for a while (and I'll look like a plonker if it turns out to be something trivial!). Oh dear.

[Tobs]

Its not clutch/brake fluid is it as suggested earlier? I notice your car is red - brake fluid tends to dissolve paint so if it has been leaking it may have picked up a red tinge on its way out of the car?

Toby.

[tobeee]

Shameless attempt to bring this to the top of the tree I'm afraid! Just had a chap from my local garage look at the car, and he's puzzled too! He says the oil looks like gearbox oil, but can't see any traces of a leak, and is wondering how the leak was so far forward away from where the gearbox is. Does the gearbox have a cooling system that routes the oil towards the front of the car?

[Woody_450]

Just a thought...and I'll probably be shot down in flames...but as everyone has said before it looks like PAS fluid (I agree, it is red stuff, I recently swapped my pipes for braided ones and refilled the system).

The only time this oil would be under pressure/moving around is when the steering rack is been used, is it possible that one of the pipes is only leaking when this is happening? It might be p!ssing it against the wheel? Ok I've just thought in your thread it said you'd had it parked up...but it could be worth a check though, start the engine and turn the wheels lock-to-lock...

Rich

tobeee said:

If it is the PAS system, will it need bleeding once fixed, or just pour in new fluid?

The system is self bleeding, just top it up...start the engine, turn the wheel lock to lock a couple of times to get rid of a few of the air bubbles, if it still makes a horrid grinding noise, like mine did, leave it to settle for a day then repeat. Job done

>> Edited by Woody_450 on Monday 30th January 14:41

[tobeee]

Thanks for the reply Rich (and everyone else).

I discussed the problem with David Batty (who I always use for servicing) and he said the gearbox is too far back to create such a puddle, and that it's pretty much bullet-proof so my theory of that being to blame was unlikely. He too reckons it's a PAS fluid leak, even though I can't find any traces of a leak on the engine or chassis. I checked back through the service history and can't find any related issues. Anyway, I've driven down to Halfords and back to get some fluid for top up, and no problems experienced. I'll monitor the situation over the next few days, and report back any new findings...