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A leak in your vehicle means that there could be a serious systemic issue with your car, no matter what the make. Some fluids that can leak include power steering fluid, coolant, and engine oil. If any of these fluids leak, you've got a problem – that we can fix! Leaks are also bad for the environment, so it's all that more imperative to take care of your car as a system that runs fully fluidly and functionally!
Some basic ways to tell if your car is showing signs of a leak are in the residue and the distinctive odors that may present, as well as a variety of colors that correspond to different leakage problems. For instance, brake fluid is distinguishable from engine oil in that the former is slick, oily, and clear/yellow/brown; while the latter is slick and oily but brown or black.
To go into more detail about how to diagnose different leaks, here are some of the properties of each (other than the above mentioned) that can help you and your repair person get to the bottom of the problem as quickly as possible:
- Fuel: thin and watery, smells like gas, clear color
- Coolant: slimy, sweet smell, green or yellow color
- Transmission: oily (but thinner than engine oil), petroleum smell, pink/red/brown color
- Power steering: oily (also thinner than engine oil), burnt marshmallow smell, pink/red/brown color
- Windshield wiper: thin and watery, glass cleaner smell, blue or green color
As you can see, diagnosing vehicle fluid leakages is very sensory. Yet it's also important to diagnose where the leaks occur. Make sure to keep your car manual handy to pinpoint the specific areas associated with each fluid location.
As always, make sure you have a good car mechanic, good auto insurance, and a reasonable knowledge of the leak areas, smells, colors, and textures of the different fluids that could be causing your car problems. If you need vehicle leak repair, we invite you to bring your car to Lorentz Automotive today!