Name that fluid! Also known as: I've got a leak!

[notdisturbed]

Ok, someone help me out here. I just recently had the TOB, clutch, flywheel, etc replaced by ford under warranty. All good and well i thought till sunday night. Sunday night i notice a nice big puddle of fluid under my car. So, today i throw it up on ramps and look for the source of said fluid. The drip is coming from between the block and the bellhousing, its dripping down on that black bar that runs under the tranny. Now, onto the details of "the fluid":
#1-Its mostly clear, slightly off color(yellowish) tint.

#2-No overwhelming smell.

#3-Tastes sweet.

#4-Slight feeling of lubricity, but gets a little sticky if you rub it between your fingers.

Im going to throw my guess out as engine coolant. BUT, where in the heck would there be coolant leaking from in that area? How could they have messed up a line or something replacing the clutch assembly?

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[TERMIN8TR]

is it the new yellow coolant?

 

[UltimateSVT]

It's engine coolant.

 

[Orange Poison]

Dude, you tasted it? That sh&t could be toxic....

Could be your hydro booster leaking...mine did

 

[dougwg]

Originally posted by UltimateSVT
It's engine coolant.

:thumbsup:

 

[Terminator]

EDIT: double post

 

[Terminator]

Sounds like coolant from your description, thats not good!
Ya coolant is toxic....but a taste test won't hurt you.

 

[Rio]

Originally posted by notdisturbed
#3-Tastes sweet.

hahaha, thats gonna be a tough one.....i dont know if we've all tasted every fluid in our cars.....

 

[notdisturbed]

Ok, so weve established that my assumptions were correct, and it is engine coolant. Now, where exactly could it coming from so that is leaking down betweek the block and the bellhousing? I layed under the car and watched it drip down from that area, so im 100% positive thats where its coming from.

 

[Rio]

Originally posted by notdisturbed
Ok, so weve established that my assumptions were correct, and it is engine coolant. Now, where exactly could it coming from so that is leaking down betweek the block and the bellhousing? I layed under the car and watched it drip down from that area, so im 100% positive thats where its coming from.

that is really not good.....sounds like a headgasket.......

on the edit: i guess theres a *slight* possibility it could be tranny fluid as i think the stock stuff is yellow-ish (cant remember, have royal purple now).....i highly highly doubt its tranny fluid, but you could always pull your shifter off and see if the "overflow" under the shifter is the same thing.....

 

[Juiced46]

Definetely sounds like coolant. The gold coolant tastes good lol. I got alittle in my mouth one time, oops.

It could be leaking from the head where the coolant tube goes into the back of the head. Maybe one of the tubes got poked?

 

[NCStanger]

Hey man, if you don't mind me asking, what was happening with your clutch that you could get Ford to replace it all under your standard warranty? I've got this "clutch chatter" thing that just started at around 30K miles and it only happens when I run the car up to 3500+ rpms. It will "chirp" and make noise that you can hear quite distinctly with the windows up and the radio off. I'm thinking the cable is either stretched for some reason, or bearing is worn maybe. Either way, the clutch works fine that I can tell, just annoying.

 

[black03]

Coolant for dinner!!!Yummy...LOL

Sorry bout the leak. Go back to Ford and bitch to your service supervisor. Black03

 

[PhillyCobra]

Check the hose from the back of the passenger side head to the firewall (heater hose). This is actually not far above the bellhousing, and could have been cut or loosened when clutch was installed.

There is no such hose on the driver's side head. That's why the Apten cooling mod is to add an outlet to the back of the driver's head to help coolant flow through cylinders 7 & 8. You pretty well have to remove the bell housing to be able to do this mod.

Compare the fluid to that in your coolant tank.

Stock trans fluid is red.

 

[notdisturbed]

Originally posted by NCStanger
Hey man, if you don't mind me asking, what was happening with your clutch that you could get Ford to replace it all under your standard warranty? I've got this "clutch chatter" thing that just started at around 30K miles and it only happens when I run the car up to 3500+ rpms. It will "chirp" and make noise that you can hear quite distinctly with the windows up and the radio off. I'm thinking the cable is either stretched for some reason, or bearing is worn maybe. Either way, the clutch works fine that I can tell, just annoying.

The throw out bearing was gone(loud squeeling, clutch pedal vibrating badly). I took it to ford, told them what was wrong, they replaced a bunch of stuff including the clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, etc.

 

[Rio]

Originally posted by PhillyCobra
Stock trans fluid is red.

thanks.....couldnt remember what color it was

 

[notdisturbed]

Originally posted by PhillyCobra
Check the hose from the back of the passenger side head to the firewall (heater hose). This is actually not far above the bellhousing, and could have been cut or loosened when clutch was installed.

There is no such hose on the driver's side head. That's why the Apten cooling mod is to add an outlet to the back of the driver's head to help coolant flow through cylinders 7 & 8. You pretty well have to remove the bell housing to be able to do this mod.

Compare the fluid to that in your coolant tank.

Stock trans fluid is red.

Tested it, same as whats in my coolant tank. If it is that hose on the back of the passenger side head, is it accessible w/out removing the bellhousing?

 

[PhillyCobra]

notdisturbed,

You can see the heater hose come up from the bottom of the passenger side head from above, but I can't see where it actually enters the head. I know you can unclamp the hose where it goes into the heater core behind the firewall, but I don't know if you can undo it from the head without removing the bellhousing and getting it from below. I would poke your hand in that area and see if you feel anything wet. From the service manual it looks like the hose enters the head within an inch of the bell housing. If it's wet, let Ford deal with it.

Anyone else with experience with this?

 

[CobraBob]

Hopefully it isn't a major issue. I think PhillyCobraOn possibly hit it right on the head. On a light note, I switched coolants because the Gold coolant definitely has a sweeter taste and my Cobra complained often that the Green coolant was too bitter. LOL!

 

[notdisturbed]

Ok, checked the heater hose coming out the back of the head, no leak. Felt all around the back of the block and top of the tranny bellhousing, no wettness. The only place a leak is visible is between the metal plate on the front of the bellhousing and the back edge of the block. When the car is started it leaks worse. Anyone have any ideas? The car was absolutely fine before going in for the tranny work, no leaks what-so-ever.
Anyone have any more ideas?