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Ambiguous Fluid Leak


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I'm noticing a very slow leak of some sort of fluid from under the front end of my 99. Only problem is that I can only see it keeping the frame crossbar moist, not the actual source. As best i can tell it's located on the right side, directly beneath the oil filter and the starter. When I put a drop on my finger it appeared very dark-almost black, and when it was on a cloth it looked as if it had kind of a yellow-ish gold tint to it, yet still very dark. My steering, washer, and coolant reservoirs are all full and my oil is both full and clean, not black. My only thought is that it may be tranny fluid, but that's usually pink, right? Any ideas on A) what this might be and B) how I can find the source of the leak to get it fixed?

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You'll need to pressure wash the underside of your vehicle and then start watching/looking for signs of leakage. It could be tranny fluid... just old dirty fluid that won't be looking very pink any more. Does the tranny fluid look pink on the dipstick?

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My 93 had a similar leak, it turned out to be the hydraulic fan motor, I don't know if the third gen es used the same hyd. fan for the cooling,, but mine had a very small leak......I was able to repair it by removing the hyd. motor, disassembling it, and replacing the o-ring.....as a temp. fix I used some "red gasket" sealer with the old o-ring... making sure that none of the goop interferes with the rotor on the motor,,,, have had absolutely no leaks since then, so I will probably not take it back apart to install a new o-ring.... while I had the fan assembly out I cleaned everything !Removed! an span..... no more leak...... yeaaaaaaa

capn

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I'm noticing a very slow leak of some sort of fluid from under the front end of my 99. Only problem is that I can only see it keeping the frame crossbar moist, not the actual source. As best i can tell it's located on the right side, directly beneath the oil filter and the starter. When I put a drop on my finger it appeared very dark-almost black, and when it was on a cloth it looked as if it had kind of a yellow-ish gold tint to it, yet still very dark.

Does the fluid feel/smell like oil or transmission fluid?

From your description it sounds more like oil to me. Being on the right side (near the oil filter and alternator) it could be 1.) residual oil from a recent oil change since it's impossible to change the filter without some spillage over the engine mount, 2.) the filter gasket, 3.) a valve cover leak, 4.) a camshaft or crank seal.

Like blk_on_blk suggested, you may have to clean everything up and keep a close eye on things to pinpoint the leak,

-

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yes i would also assume it was a sloppy tech that just did not clean up after your last "LOF" ( lube oil filter )..

if you are still curious just add some(special flourecent) dye to your oil and use a black light to trace the leak...

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