Liquid leaking from under car

I've never noticed this but at least today after driving for about 40 minutes I could see some liquid(probably water judging from looks) leaking from under car just about where front wheels are. I've used AC so maybe it's just the case of condensation etc but can anyone please confirm that this is normal

thanks

Reply to
asdf
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A/C condensation is normal. If it looks and tastes like water, it may be water. If it looks and tastes like antifreeze, it probably is antifreeze. Same for oil.

Reply to
Paul

if it is clear water and you are running the A/C, it is in fact 100% normal.

If it's some other color and/or has a smell to it, post back...

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Um, *I* wouldn't taste anything leaking from a car...

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

Get the neighbor's annoying dog to taste it for you...

Reply to
Pete C.

I think it's all hooey!

I left a pan with coolant under the car for three days and not a single dog in the neighborhood went belly-up.

Funny, i haven't seen any chipmunks for a while... (not a bad thing...they've infiltrated my 'hachiroku' and have been there for a while...)

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

The original poster shouldn't need to do that, of course. The senses of sight and smell and touch should tell the tale, and so does position under the car.

Here is a field guide to undercar puddles:

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As others have noted, water is *supposed* to come out of an air conditioning system, and I can't think of any other reason clear water would come out of a car unless it's been rained on or washed recently (assuming you have antifreeze mixture in the cooling system and some kind of bug juice in the washer reservoir).

Reply to
jtchew1

We had a cat who liked to sleep under the hood on cold nights. One day my wife took off and heard a thud, but didn't think anything of it. Then the car overheated, she stopped, and under the hood was the cat, drenched in antifreeze and bleeding from a head wound. He had fallen into the fan and broke the fan, a blade of which punched through the radiator hose.

The cat was sick for a week in the hospital. The vet said the head wound was superficial, but the amount of antifreeze he swallowed could cause kidney failure. He said the cat had an even chance of surviving. The problem was not intentional ingestion, but that the cat licked his fur to get the crud off. The cat did survive, but he sure was sick for awhile.

Reply to
Don Stauffer

You're lucky. Maybe that's what happened to mine. She was a stray, but I think she was older than the vet said.

The cat's damn lucky, too!

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

Coward!

Reply to
Jacques Clouseau

Coward!

Reply to
Jacques Clouseau

Better than tasting something leaking from underneath a camel

Reply to
HLS

Don't mind professor Closeau. If you refused to put your head in a guillotine, he would call you a coward.

The simple solution is to use a white paper towel, absorb a sample of the drippings, and evaluate it for color using white light (not fluorescent or sodium vapor) and then you will know.

My antifreeze is YELLOW. My tranny fluid is PINK. My oil is synthetic, mostly CLEAR.

pretty simple.

Reply to
Nicholas

Antifreeze, ethylene glycol formulates, has a particular smell (sweetish), and an oil feel.

I have no experience with camel pee ;>)

Reply to
HLS

Not the latest versions! There has been an additive to take away the pleasantness of the odor/taste to reduce harm to animals that might ingest it (dogs licking drippings, and so forth) because to THEM, antifreeze does irreparable damage to their organs, esp. the liver, and they die because of it.

So if you're still looking at sweet smelling stuff, it isn't the *NEW* formulation.

FYI only.

Nick

Neither do I.

Reply to
Nicholas

On Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:01:43 -0500, "HLS" wrote:

Not the latest versions! There has been an additive to take away the pleasantness of the odor/taste to reduce harm to animals that might ingest it (dogs licking drippings, and so forth) because to THEM, antifreeze does irreparable damage to their organs, esp. the liver, and they die because of it.

So if you're still looking at sweet smelling stuff, it isn't the *NEW* formulation.

FYI only.

Nick

Neither do I. ================================================================ ADDENDUM:

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April 02, 2009 Bitter Antifreeze Each year, thousands of pets are poisoned (accidentally or otherwise) by drinking the ethylene glycol found in many antifreezes. For a medium sized dog, ingestion of about 2 ounces (3-4 tablespoons ) is toxic. For cats, as little as 1/4 of an ounce (1-2 teaspoons) can be lethal. In the previous decade, Oregon was the first state to require that a small amount of the tremendously bitter compound denatonium benzoate (DB) be added to antifreeze and windshield washer fluid. DB can also be added to methanol to denature it. Soon, British Columbia will require DB in antifreeze. A new regulation mandating the use of the bittering agent denatonium benzoate, will be effective Jan. 1, 2011. ?The sweet taste of antifreeze is a major reason for the accidental?often fatal?ingestion of toxic antifreeze by pets, wildlife and young children,? Environment Minister Barry Penner said in a news release. ?By making it mandatory to add an extremely bitter substance to the product, we will make it less appealing, reducing its likelihood of being consumed in significant quantities.? However, not all animal groups are on board with such changes. For instance, the ASPCA is officially neutral on the subject. Product manufacturers as well as some humane groups are proposing to protect pets and people from antifreeze poisoning by adding a bitter, taste-aversive agent such as denatonium benzoate (Bitrex®) to ethylene glycol-containing automobile antifreeze, and federal legislation has been proposed to this effect. While the ASPCA supports the concept of protecting companion animals from known poisons through taste aversion, there is as yet no published data demonstrating the efficacy of Bitrex, or any other taste-aversive substance, in the dog. In fact, The ASPCA?s Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) regularly receives calls involving dogs who have consumed mouse poison containing denatonium benzoate. The APCC and dog owners are well aware of the fact that dogs will eat unlikely substances in alarming quantities. The ASPCA is concerned that antifreeze containing a taste-aversive substance that was specifically added to protect dogs would be marketed as ?safer,? thus causing pet owners to relax their vigilance with regard to handling and storing this potentially lethal product. In the meantime, the APCC is on the front lines working with Orphan Medical, the company that manufactures Antizol-VetTM, the antidote for antifreeze poisoning, to keep life-saving medical care and advice available. Some antifreezes are instead based upon propylene glycol. That compound is safer, but it still has some toxicity. Also note that used antifreezes can contain additional hazardous substances. During use, antifreeze can become contaminated with traces of benzene and lead. Used antifreeze should never be disposed of down storm drains or surface waters. It is illegal and dangerous to discharge antifreeze to septic tanks, dry wells or to the outdoors. Due to its composition, used antifreeze can be considered a hazardous waste. However, if used antifreeze is recycled, it doesn't need to be treated as hazardous waste. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has determined that antifreeze that is recycled and managed in accordance to Best Management Practices (BMPs) generally will not exhibit hazardous waste characteristics and will not need to be handled as hazardous waste. You may be able to discharge your used antifreeze to a water treatment facility (with prior approval from the facility). However, many water treatment plants prohibit the disposal of antifreeze because of the potential of damaging the system.

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Reply to
Nicholas

If its red, leakng from the trunk area of a Lincoln parked in New Jersey, you didn't see anything.

Reply to
Paul Hovnanian P.E.

I believe you will find that the additive is not to change the smell but rather the taste. It is an extremely bitter additive. Cats probably wouldnt drink ethyleneglycol anyway, too wary, but dogs would probably lap it up. As is, it has a sweet taste, but not with the additive.

Ever tasted glycerine? Like sugar water, and safe to consume.

Reply to
HLS

The only glycerin I have around here is sublingual nitroglycerin in a pump spray bottle, and to me, it is more valuable than gold. It burns, but that is okay, because I know it is working.

All I have left to do this season is change my antifreeze and I'm not too worried about it. I'll need 11.6 quarts of 50/50 mix, so that means I have to buy 2 gallons of AF, to mix with 2 gallons of distilled water, for a total of 4 gallons of useable AF. That will leave me with 1 gallon of unuseable (exceeds engine capacity).

So 2 gals of 100% AF and 2 gals of Distilled water, that's going to be the least expensive way I can solve this problem I think. 16 quarts of mix, and 4 left over after the job is done. wow. that's a LOTTA fluid.

Ford says I HAVE to use Motorcraft Premium Gold Engine Coolant (yellow colored), so that rules out my buying 50/50 premix of something else at the store. AFAIK, nobody sells 50/50 premix of what I need; I'll have to do it myself.

I plan on going in at 2 points: lower radiator hose for drain and thermostat housing for fill. How much will it cost? I hope under $40 total but I might be kidding myself about the price of the Motorcraft Gold.

Nick

Reply to
Nicholas

I found a quickcheck price of $22.50 per gallon on this juice, so you will run a bit over the $40 mark, it would seem, unless you find it cheaper somewhere else.

I suspect it is overpriced and over specified, but you have to do what you have to do to keep warranties in force..

Now, think about this...your hoses are now several years old. Are you going to change them too? That will add some more money, but might prevent your losing that valuable "cat CocaCola". Ditto thermostat.

Reply to
HLS

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