Fluid leak.... oh oh :-( (1 Viewer)

[Cathar_Knight]

Hello,

I have a 2001 LC with 310K miles on her.

Today I went out and noticed a drip in the center of the engine (roughly center or slightly back of center). The fluid appears to be light red (maybe a touch of brown/yellow). It was dripping at a rate of about one drip per minute for about 15 mins and now hasn't dripped much in the last hour or two. All fluids that I can easily check seem normal. I have had issues with a power steering leak and currently have a slow leak in the radiator (small hole). My concern is that it may be coming from the front differential. I don't have the tools with me to check the differential fluid. Is there any easy (relatively accurate) way of determining how safe it is to drive my LC 50 miles to the repair shop?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[stonepa]

Have you driven it at all since the leak? Any new noises?

 

[Cathar_Knight]

Yes.... drove it about 3 miles round trip.... sounds fine.

 

[stonepa]

Maybe it's the power steering leak. The high pressure side can really spray with a tiny leak.

 

[TheForger]

Tape a large piece of white paper to level ground or a garage and park your truck on top of it for the night. When you wake up the next morning you should be able to get a good idea of exactly what fluid it is. A reddish hue often indicates power steering fluid. If so, with your power steering fluid at an adequate level, you shouldn't have a problem making it there.

 

[Sandroad]

Not likely to be differential fluid if the leak is red. One of 2 known leaks (PS and coolant) are a good first guess. Is the transmission fluid level ok? Are the heater hose T's intact? That white paper test is a good next step.

 

[Cathar_Knight]

Here are the results of the drip test and a photograph of where the leak is coming from under the vehicle. Hard to see more without removing the shields.....

Thoughts?

 

[revoked]

Drop the shields.

 

[uHu]

Here are the results of the drip test and a photograph of where the leak is coming from under the vehicle. Hard to see more without removing the shields.....

Thoughts?

Dropping the shields takes all of 5 minutes...