WTH is leaking?

[kouki_s14]

There is a slow leak in the front of my car somewhere. My garage floor has an oil spot just under where the front of the engine is positioned, pulley area. It looks like transmission oil, but that is way too far back to be leaking there. The oil is clean and brown, so its not motor oil because that is black. Even if my motor oil was fresh it should be purple since ive been using royal purple. Oil pan was new from the swap and is dry around the edges. Can't be brake or clutch lines, not only are those not positioned there, but i'm using super blue fluid. Can't be power steering because that is red.

Could it be the A/C compressor? Is R-134A or whatever the new freon is called an oily substance?

I'm stumpped here :confused: , anyone know what it might be?

[nrg]

coolant is leaking from the pump on the weep hole. that means your pump is going out, change it.

[kouki_s14]

coolant is leaking from the pump on the weep hole. that means your pump is going out, change it.

i dont think its coolant, it looks and feels like fresh oil

thanks for the response though

[krzy]

check your power steering fluid. mine is leaking from the front driver side of the engine area. also, it's a mix of clear and brown fluid.

[kandyflip445]

You might be looking into the color thing too much.

If it's near the front of the engine the front main seal is a frequent problem.

You can go and buy a dye for the oil that will glow under a special light if it gets that far. Try and clean everything up under where you think it's leaking then just check it everyday to see if you can spot it.

[DisEpyon]

id have to agree with kandy, the front main seal. i remember when my brother rebuilt his motor and after a couple of days there has been oil leaks near the front and notice it was the front main seal, he didnt put it on evenly (this was on a honda gsr motor though.) or you might check your power steering hoses, mine were leaking for quit some time and there has been leaks driping down every so often and the color was very dark and slimy, i just replaced them today.

[infinitexsound]

powersteering fluid...... clean the engine bay, then see where its leaking from once its dry and running for awhile...

[projectRDM]

PS leak *should* be red, since it's ATF, but no one seems to realize that's what is uses.
I'd say coolant too, mixed in with a little oil from the front main just below it.

[Gnnr]

Yeah, I'm thinking power steering from the boots, check that. It could be getting caught up with some grime hence the darker color, unless your engine bay is spotless or something...

[kouki_s14]

i see can why you guys are saying that, but its a really light brown color, it looks just like trans oil maybe even lighter. Could be front main seal, i was thinking that, but again it doesnt look like motor oil at all. even if it was coolant and dripped down mixing with the front main seal, water and oil dont mix and it really really doesnt look like it's that. i also know for sure it is not water because it is an oil.

it does not smell like motor oil, does not smell like ATF, does not smell like diff oil

this is why i am so dam confused

[HalveBlue]

Could be a bunch of things.

Just because fluids are a certain color out of the bottle doesn't mean they can't change color when they start leaking.

They could have mixed with other fluids or dirt and changed the appearance/smell.

Check the main seal, cheack around headgasket, check gaskets around times like the timing chain tensioner.

[kawika219]

check the brake system for leaks

[nrg]

i see can why you guys are saying that, but its a really light brown color, it looks just like trans oil maybe even lighter. Could be front main seal, i was thinking that, but again it doesnt look like motor oil at all. even if it was coolant and dripped down mixing with the front main seal, water and oil dont mix and it really really doesnt look like it's that. i also know for sure it is not water because it is an oil.

it does not smell like motor oil, does not smell like ATF, does not smell like diff oil

this is why i am so dam confused

I had a leak exactly like that a few months ago. It felt like oil on my fingers, didn't smell or taste like motor oil or atf. the color was brownish (like gear oil). I later found out that one of the coolant lines in between my intake manifold was leaking. The line had a small crack from old age.

[aznpoopy]

yes the a/c system uses oil and im pretty sure it can leak. pop open a bottle of a/c oil and you'll know what it smells like.

[g6civcx]

I say it's power steering fluid, ATF fluid, mixed with dirt and grime. Check the pump.

[Cashizslick]

If its your PS fluid - then the amount of fluid in the reservoir should gradually decline in relation to the speed of the leak.

If the PS fluid level does not change, its probably not PS fluid that is leaking.

[Dream240]

i see can why you guys are saying that, but its a really light brown color, it looks just like trans oil maybe even lighter. Could be front main seal, i was thinking that, but again it doesnt look like motor oil at all. even if it was coolant and dripped down mixing with the front main seal, water and oil dont mix and it really really doesnt look like it's that. i also know for sure it is not water because it is an oil.

it does not smell like motor oil, does not smell like ATF, does not smell like diff oil

this is why i am so dam confused

What are you some kind of secret car tracker hot on the trail?

There's a very few times that smelling, touching, tasting, fluids will lead to a diagnosis. For many of the reasons that have been previously mentioned. If it was coolant that was mixed with oil (doesn't really mix BTW) It could look light brown, or even dirt. Or hey it could even be RUSTY coolant! That would be fun wouldn't it?

As far as the difference between tranny oil and motor oil, they're the same!! Different viscosity but gear oil, engine oil, differential oil will all look the same right out of the box. Consistency will be different as will fresh smell, but once it's introduced into your car...the possibilities are endless.

So stop trying to use the "tracker" method. And check your hosees. Are the PS reseviour hoses all gunky? You should ahve a build up right where the hoses meet the reseviour tank. If so then I'm sure you're leaking PS fluid. Any white residue on the weep hole of the water pump? If so then your pump is failing, hence part of your leak problem. since you say you did the oil pan is it still dry around it? ALL the way around it? Is there grime build up right behind the pulley? If so you've got a bad front main seal.

hope this helps.

[Dream240]

I had a leak exactly like that a few months ago. It felt like oil on my fingers, didn't smell or taste like motor oil or atf. the color was brownish (like gear oil). I later found out that one of the coolant lines in between my intake manifold was leaking. The line had a small crack from old age.

In case you didn't know, you have rust in your coolant my friend, or a blown head gasket.....your coolant should be green or orange, not brown. Sorry.

check the brake system for leaks

How could this possibly be a brake leak? He's saying the front of the motor is leaking. There's no brake components up there sorry.

[kawika219]

How could this possibly be a brake leak? He's saying the front of the motor is leaking. There's no brake components up there sorry.
i fail......but ps fluid is red

[nrg]

In case you didn't know, you have rust in your coolant my friend, or a blown head gasket.....your coolant should be green or orange, not brown. Sorry.
coolant is fine and green. the leak just ran down the side of the motor where it's all dirty. then it would hit the front subframe area; the same area where the oil filter is at. We all know that oil hits the side of the motor when we do an oil change.

[kleenS14]

The A/C system does use oil (PAG or Esther is I recall correctly). Yet there shouldnt be much to leak if this is your problem. The A/C system only carries a few ounces to lube the compressor. If you think thats what it could be, there's also a dye that shows up under a blacklight that you can put in the oil to find out. If you run near out of oil, your compressor is gonna take a sh!t, and they'r not cheap. Used ones are never good either becuase of the moisture in them from being exposed to the atmosphere. Good luck though.

[kouki_s14]

i forgot my mention my ac lines are not hooked up, i never had the time to modify it after the swap. Both sides of the A/C compressor are open. Been over a year since the swap, kind of strange if it just started leaking now.

Thanks for all the tips guys, i will look into it once i get the chance. all oil and coolant levels seem to be fine from what i can see. I'll look into more tomorrow when the sun is out. thanks again