spender

My 2003 C4S has been running great, etc., running at usual temp, no codes, no issues. A few weeks ago, I noticed a minuscule coolant leak on my driveway (I have the "electric pink" coolant) (see my coolant leak thread here), so topped up the coolant and changed the cap. Coolant still continued to leak a little so I've got it booked in to my indy for Tuesday - he just said to check the coolant level before I drive off in the morning to make sure it hasn't fallen too far.

This morning I go to check it, and lo and behold, there's a new leak, lucky me! My garage, like most, slopes to the back and at first I was concerned that it was coming out of the engine area - but that is dry as a bone. I have been able to localize it by finding the "wet spots" at the bolts under the driver side lower door moulding. Clearly this is some kind of a line running under the driver side of the car.

Based on my first-hand advance knowledge of my coolant leak, I am sure this is not coolant (wrong color and texture) - its watery, mostly clear (but yellowish) and does not feel oily. Does not have a noticeable smell - just "watery". Feels a little like the Pentosin in texture, but does not smell the same.

So, my candidates are:

1. Brake fluid (although the level in the reservoir seems fine from a visual check)
2. power steering fluid
3. air conditioning fluid

Ideas please...

spender

Oh, and one more footnote to this is that yesterday I inadvertently hit a small bird that didn't fly up quickly enough - my wife said this was bad karma - I guess you can call it "chickadee's revenge"...

ivangene

so this is in the middle of the car? front or back of drivers door?

IIRC the AC lines run up the passenger side - but I havent looked that closely at that area for a while and dont recall what all is in there...but yellow? sure you didnt drop a Mountain Dew in the car

is there a battery overflow that comes out there somewhere...IIRC there is an exit behind the drivers tire from the battery area.... maybe its water mixed with battery or some tree leaves in the drain?

spender

Hi - it's near the front and the middle of the driver's door. I know the sunroof drain comes out down there, but I've never seen a discharge like this happen.

Based on a quick visual scan of the pictures in Adrian Streather's book, there's a ton of lines that run under the U.S. driver's side... Big ones would be brake lines and cooling. Can't find any pictures of where the A/C system runs, though. My coolant level in my overflow tank is fine. My brake fluid also appears fine. I even checked my pentosin level, and it is in the zone for the "cold" level. Is it possible to have a leak in one of these systems but still have the levels check normally due to some kind of blockage in the specific fluid system?

I'm just so tired of chasing leaks...

ivangene

you, my friend are NOT a candidate for an air cooled car

seanmcr6

Is this a continuous leak? or just a mess you've found?

If it's still dripping/leaking...the one of the sources you metioned will be decreasing. So measure the usual suspects and see which one is decreasing. Might take a few days to get a measurable amount...depends on how quickly it's leaking....

If it's is just a mess...you might have picked up something on the road...someone might have poured their drink on your car (seriously...I've seen people do it and I've had a rotten apple and a banana peel left on the roof of my C4S....freakn jealous people)

jdog

With that small amount in the pic. your levels may look fine even though it is leaking. I would just keep an eye on everything. If it is coming from the AC system lines it is probably AC Dye that they use to trace leaks. That's actually what it looks like to me.
Good Luck!

spender

Good point. Here's the list of all possible fluids it could be in the car, in decreasing order of their capacities (thanks to owner's manual and Streather for measures and this helpful site):

1. Fuel - 16.6 gallons / 63 litres: Light translucent liquid with slight yellow tint, smells like gas! (duh)

2. Coolant - 5.95 gallons / 22.5 litres: Slimy and thin bright pink (newer) or green (older).

3. Tip S Transmission (ATF) - 9.51 quarts / 9.0 litres: Medium to heavy and oily; Red.

4. Engine oil - 8.7 quarts / 8.25 litres: Medium and oily, Brown or reddish-brown.

5. Windshield washer - 6.02 quarts / 5.7 litres: Color varies, smells sweet.

6. Tip S Differential (ATF) - 1.32 quarts / 1.25 litres: Medium to heavy and oily; Red.

7. Power Steering (Pentosin CHF S11) - 1.3 quarts / 1.27 litres: Light and thin, and green (according to Pentosin website)

8. Brake fluid reservoir - 0.48 quarts / 0.45 litres: Thin and slick; clear to slightly brown.

Other possibilities of discharges the car can make include:

A. Cooling system runoff

B. Air conditioning leak (not sure how this would leak, I thought freon would just evaporate?)

Based on the above, I think my possible candidates are 5 (washer); 7 (power steering) or 8 (brake fluid) - or 2 (coolant, if it has been debased for some reason)

spender

I put a small cup under the car and was able to catch some. Here's a picture - it may not come through very clearly, but it has a slight green tint, kind of a light chartreuse. It is odorless, and feels light and slightly oily:



Based on the above, and the location, I think I can rule out coolant. My top pick for it is power steering fluid, the Pentosin CHF S11. A smear test on paper with pentosin from the dipstick revealed similar characteristics.

Anyone else have any ideas based on this color/appearance?

ivangene

take a syringe and suck a little brake fluid out, pump it into a glass and see how the color compares

A/C compressor oil = other guess

spender

Well, I just went for a drive to get ingredients for supper, had a nice drive - all seemed totally normal. A/C blew like a deep freeze.

When I got home, I checked the Power Streering dipstick - and it is definitely down from where it should be from the "hot" arrow. So, I thought I had narrowed it down to power steering!

But, then I tried ivangene's suggestion and drew out some brake fluid, and I'll be darned if it doesn't look exactly the same as the stuff pictured above - although maybe a little lighter in color (but the quantity I drew out is less, granted, but it's still pretty darned close). But the brake reservoir level has not fallen. What gives? However, checking the various diagrams, it's easy to see that there are tons of brake lines that travel in that vicinity.

Based on the relative cost of the issue, I think I'd rather that it be the brakes (as long as they don't fail on me while I'm going highway speeds) than the steering. If your rack is leaking, it's a replacement issue. If brakes are leaking, it's probably a line or a connection or something. I'd prefer the latter.

ivangene

so can you withdraw some power steering fluid out of the filler/check tank and see what color it is?

the only other wierd thing is "maybe" clutch slave and its squirting against the tunnel and down the wall? Again if the brakes were bled and not the clutch the colors could be slightly differant. just grasping at straws since I cant see the car up in the air...that maybe what you need is to get it up and have a good look

spender

Not sure what you mean by clutch slave - this is a tip car... But the good news here I guess is that I already had it booked to go in on Tuesday - not an easy feat at this time of year at my city's best indy! I called last week when I thought the coolant leak was the only issue.

Also - just to add to the details, if I listen quietly by the driver side fender, I can hear something slowly dripping (drip-drop) sounds fairly high up in the fender (like, over the wheel).

jdog

Thats exactly where the reservoir is. Could it be a leak on the back side of the take and running down towards the front of the car?
The old test for A-freeze used to be taste it on the tip of your finger. If it tastes sweet than it is a-freeze not sure though that it applies with pentosin.

ivangene

Oh, tip sorry missed it