I'm in the midst of a nightmare with the Austin TX Lexus service dept. Knew the starter was going bad and decided I didnt have the time or the risk tolerance to change it myself. First replacement starter was bad.. sounded like a blender full of ice after the engine started. Gear was probably staying engaged and spinning. Second starter sounds fine. During the course of replacing the starter, it appears they broke the seal on the coolant crossover. They tried to patch it with PIG (?) but it still leaked. So off the manifold comes for a third time to replace the crossover. But here's the problem that's persisted. Something is leaking and I can't identify it.

* It's transparent and tan colored, like new motor oil. But my motor oil isn't new and is darker than the spots I'm finding on the garage floor every other day.
* It's slightly thinner than motor oil. Its also slightly caustic, slightly eating into the cement stain on the garage floor when it sits overnight. It almost feels slightly sticky to the touch.
* It's not the same color as coolant, brake fluid, transmission, or power steering fluid. It almost looks like oil from a floor jack.
* Its collecting on the driver side, just behind the front wheel, on the suspension arm lower rear joint. Not sure if its the lower ball joint. It runs from there along a triangle shaped bracket and drips from either of those spots. Two big drops every other night, even if I wipe off whats there in the morning.
* Service writer thought it might be brake or engine cleaner. Said they use that to clean up after a repair.
* I'm wondering if the starters have any kind of oil, either in the starter, solenoid, or capacitor (if there is one) and it might be leaking out.

Any guesses?

 

My suggestion is to check the brake lines for cracks because your car is almost 9 years now. What you also need to do is remove the wheel on the side where it's leaking and inspect the shocks to make sure it is not busted. Besides that, I really can't think of any fluid that may be of that color.

 

Hadn't considered shocks. I'm still on the original ones. (please dont ban me). But aren't they gas, not oil?

 

hm..yeah..not many ideas here..

try posting a picture..

and put something underneath the car..and bring the stuff to a lexus technician...maybe they can identify it by loooking at it..good luck

 

could be shock oil.

 

Most likey oil from the shocks. The oil is a very thin and watery like consistency/feel. Basically a really really runny oil. It also has a unique smell that's like no other fluid in the car. I had that stuff leak on my floor when I had of leaky shocks sitting in the corner of the garage.