Light match to prove its gas.
My car is leaking badly -- opinions?
- Thread starter khardbored
- Start date
Light match to prove its gas.
I read this as “My MILF” at first.
When it happened, I could sit there and watch it. Large puddle. Not quite "shooting out," but a consistent dribble.
I know part of it is gasoline. The smell makes that very evident. I was in the parking lot AT a car dealership when I noticed it, though I had noticed the gas smell for 2-3 days prior. (I was looking at used cars anyhow ... the car salesman is probably licking his chops assuming I'm 100% desperate for a new vehicle . . . he's not 100% wrong . . . He commented that it's prob. not safe to drive, so I left it there [at Bob Brown Buick/GMC] and someone came an picked me up.) The salesman was the one who commented that it looked like gas + oil leaking.
The fluid looked 75% clear except for a dark spot in the middle. When touched, my finger has a brown tinge to it, like oil (I'm not a huge car guy but I know what motor oil looks like from putting it in my mower). Having said that, who knows how dirty the pavement was there, or how many prior leaks had dripped into that spot.
My strategy at this point is to call Bob Brown this AM and ask them if they would just take a look as a courtesy -- since it's already at their place.
You haven’t lived until you’ve gotten behind the wheel of a fully paid off 2002 Kia Sedona.
I want to say it was in the late 90's but Buick switched from using metal crushed gasket seals to plastic and they are notorious for leaking.
Child please! I had an 03 Chevy Trailblazer that gave out free back massages at speeds greater than 55 MPH. The hardest part about having to trade that POS in was that it's damn hard to find a tape/cd combo deck.
Congrats on the new vehicle!
When you first said that you have to give it a little gas to start, that makes me think of a clogged or cracked fuel filter or possibly a hairline leak in your fuel line. Where is the leak? Directly below the engine or somewhere between the engine and the fuel tank? Google tells me that replacing a fuel filter on an '05 is easy but on an '06 it is inside the fuel tank as a part of the fuel pump.
You could be mistaking gunk coming out of your dirty fuel filter for oil if it is an '05.
Disclaimer: I only work on cars when I absolutely have to and am in no way qualified to give any real advice.
You could be mistaking gunk coming out of your dirty fuel filter for oil if it is an '05.
Disclaimer: I only work on cars when I absolutely have to and am in no way qualified to give any real advice.
OP: it's really hard to say what it is, leaks can be very deceiving. And you could have plain old water from the A/C mixing in there too. Have a pro take a look. For $150 you will know what is really going on.
"Brown" fluid could be transmission fluid, brake fluid, oil... even just grease and dirt mixing in with something else.
Fuel leaking is probably from a bad hose or pump - that is the "horse" answer as opposed to "zebras". This would be dangerous, but probably not fatal to the car in terms of repair cost.
Oil and coolant would be the head gasket leaking, and that would be a terminal illness.
I am with others wrt paid off cars. Even if it is POS, paying $1000 repair to get it to live another year is WAY cheaper than buying something else. Especially if you have had the vehicle a long time and know it's repair history, general reliability, etc.
Good luck!
"Brown" fluid could be transmission fluid, brake fluid, oil... even just grease and dirt mixing in with something else.
Fuel leaking is probably from a bad hose or pump - that is the "horse" answer as opposed to "zebras". This would be dangerous, but probably not fatal to the car in terms of repair cost.
Oil and coolant would be the head gasket leaking, and that would be a terminal illness.
I am with others wrt paid off cars. Even if it is POS, paying $1000 repair to get it to live another year is WAY cheaper than buying something else. Especially if you have had the vehicle a long time and know it's repair history, general reliability, etc.
Good luck!
I checked my registration, it's an '06.
The leak is pretty much right between the two front tires, centered. (give or take a foot.)
Find an open road, floor it, drive it as fast as it will go, if you make it 10 miles it'll be fine and if it doesn't make it 10 mile you gave it a proper send off.
This shouldn't be a difficult diagnosis. Just take it to a shop that is willing to put it up on the hoist -they should be able to spot the leak easily; you go from there.
Go with the folks who said it's in the fuel line or connections. Other stuff could be gunk or oil. Fix the fuel issue first before you have a fire. If the vehicle has been well cared for, you will want to keep it a little longer.
