I have a couple drips when I park my car. It dosent appear to be engine oil, almost a redish tint to it. Coming from the passenger side engine near the front. Any thoughts?

Power steering line?

Jonathan

 

Power steering.

 

those two rubber lines going to the radiator are the transmission cooler lines. and you stated the fluid was red in color which is transmission fluid. clean everything off and monitor where its coming from than repair as needed. maybe new trans cooler lines.

 

Transmission return line is on the right side. That's ATF if it's red/pink color.

Looks like the tube / hose is bad.

Did you bend it recently?? Those things don't just leak, something must have contacted it.

Do you live in a cold state where lots of road salt is used ?!? Prob corrosion ate up the line.

Might be a good time to flush your transmission fluid.

Czr =)

 

I live in Socal, so no road salt here. The car spent most of its life here. I havent touched anything down there. Just recently put on coilovers and strut bars. I will clean and check those lines asap. I do need a transmission flush for sure. I will post back what I find.

Thanks all.

Jonathan

 

I am going with AT fluid from the cooler lines that run between the trans and the radiator.

 

Ok, I sprayed and cleaned everything I could get to. Its not the trans cooler lines since they are dry after a quick spin. I crawled under the car and its appears to be oil. Its coming from higher up on the engine. The only thing on that side of the car would be the valve cover gasket, and since the oil is higher, I assume that might be the case. There are 2 lines that are coated with oil above the alternator. So I am going to try to see if I can get a better look at the valve cover by taking off the alternator cooler vent. I need to get the leak fixed before it destroys my alternator.

I will report back with what else I find.

 

Valve cover gaskets always leak after 6 years or so, go oem with them and check pcv hoses as these like to crack as well from the inside of the hose causing oil to leak out.

 

After a closer look of your picture, the oil leak looks pretty bad. The oil and grime look to be caked on in the back area. Our GS models seem to develop leaks over time in these areas valve cover gasket, VVT-I gear, cam seals and the crank seal. Remove the timing belt cover and see if the VVT-I gear is the culprit. When you service your car for the timing belt replacement it’s always best to replace the cam seals and the crank seal while you’re in there. Our cars are very old now and just about every repair/fix has been covered in the forum. Good luck.

 

Power steering return line, just had mine fixed. Take a piece of tape and mark the level on the power steering reservoir and I bet in a couple of days you'll see it drop. As you mentioned, you'll want to get that fixed asap as it will take out the alternator out based on the location of where it drips.

 

Another update. Was looking around some more and I don't see the power steering lines dripping. I see some wetness around the front valve cover gasket area, but it was caked on with dirt, so it was really hard to tell. Will I was looking, I saw a new drip on the drivers side! There was also some wetness from that side lower valve cover gasket area, but again hard to tell with so much dirt built up. So I pretty much cleaned everything that had oil reside so I can really see where these leaks are coming from. I also tightened the valve covers to spec and allot were pretty loose. Will update once I find more out.

Thanks all for your replies, its helping to pinpoint where the leaks are coming from.

Jonathan

 

If the valve cover gasket is leaking replace them. I mean you will have to do it anyway right? Replace them and see if the leak is still there. Also make sure you use original oem gaskets. Nothing lasts longer.

 

Yes, it's really important to torque those valve cover bolts. Last thing you want is to put new gaskets in and tighten the vc bolts thinking they're really tight or hoping to not tight to much so they don't crack the vc, to find out after a few months of driving the vc gaskets are leaking again from loose vc bolt. This happened to me 2 years ago. I had to buy new gaskets and do the work all over again. Torqueing them down good that time. Engine is bone dry since.

 

OP just wanted to give you a little more info on my power steering problem, and if you're seeing pink/reddish fluid on the passenger side that's probably the culprit. This is the second time I've had an issue with the rubber hose.

I don't drive my car in the snow and it's garaged daily, but the winters here in NC caused one of the o-ring clamps to loosen. Gradually my ps fluid level dropped. By the time I realized it, I needed a power steering pump ($800 at the stealership) and shortly thereafter alternator ($600 at an indy). This was at about 150,000 miles.

Later, I did my valve cover gaskets (at around 180,000 miles) but there was mostly a burning smell from the oil as opposed to a visible leak. Now with over 215,000 miles, the car is running perfect and I check for leaks probably weekly. I'm meticulous with my vehicle so any leaks are fixed asap as I've learned letting them go will cause other issues.

Hope this helps and keep us posted.

 

Thanks Kevin3344. I might just have to take it in and have the leak checked out if I cant find it. So far after the valve cover tightening everything appears to be ok, but I will keep an eye on the P.S hoses. And For some reason I have some coolant coming out of the overflow tank tube from time to time. Need to bleed the system.

I will keep everyone posted.