Cars today use a wide variety of fluids to keep them cool and well lubricated. These fluids are kept in place by gaskets and seals which will wear out and breakdown, even in a well maintained car, causing leaks. These leaks can certainly be a hassle when trying to keep your driveway or garage clean, but they can also be a danger to your vehicle. If a leak is left unattended, it will drain your engine or transmission of essential fluids and cause premature failure. These failures will leave you with a hefty repair bill and can possibly leave you stranded.
How do I repair a leak?
The first step to leak repair is leak detection. An essential part of maintenance on any vehicle is routine fluid level checks. This should include checking the coolant level, engine oil level, transmission fluid level, power steering fluid level and, in a truck or SUV, the transfer case and differential fluid levels. Check your car’s owner’s manual for recommended fluid check intervals. In general, engine oil can be checked every week and other fluids once per month, but more frequent checks should be performed if a leak is suspected. Routine fluid checks are the best and most reliable way to discover if your vehicle is leaking. Burning smells, wet spots, and drips can also indicate a fluid leak in your car or truck.
If you have diagnosed your leak by regular fluid checks, you can be confident where your leak is coming from and treat it accordingly. If you have discovered your leak from puddles, smells or other means, it can be difficult to diagnose where the leak is coming from.
What fluid is my car leaking?
The first thing to do is to determine what type of fluid is leaking, then it will be easier to determine the location and appropriate repair. Here is a list and description of common fluids used in cars and trucks today:
- Coolant or Antifreeze: Coolant comes in a variety of colors depending on the make and year of the vehicle. Stereotypically, coolant is a florescent green color, but also can be red, gold, yellow, blue, purple or orange. Coolant will often smell sweet and be watery in appearance. Coolant is contained in the radiator and the engine block and will often leak from the radiator, hoses or head gasket. Leak Solution: BlueDevil Head Pour-N-Go or BlueDevil Head Gasket Sealer
- Engine Oil: Engine oil is held in the oil pan and circulated through the engine for lubrication. It is gold to brown in color and can be slippery or sticky to the touch. Engine oil will usually leak from one of the many gaskets or seals in your motor and leave puddles just behind the front wheels. Leak Solution: BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak or BlueDevil Rear Main Sealer
- Transmission Fluid: Transmission fluid is used to lubricate and operate an automatic transmission. It is circulated through the transmission and often through an external transmission cooler mounted near the front of the vehicle or through the radiator to be cooled. Transmission fluid is often red in color and thinner than engine oil. It would be leaking either from the center of a truck or SUV or between the front wheels of a passenger car. Leak Solution: BlueDevil Transmission Sealer
- Transfer Case and Differential Fluid: Transfer cases and differentials take a variety of fluids depending on the year and make of your vehicle. It also can be difficult to determine amount of fluid present so service may be required by a professional. Transfer case and differential fluid will often have a distinct bitter smell and will leave spots at the center of the vehicle, or between the wheels. Leak Solution: BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak
- Power Steering Fluid: Power Steering fluid is pumped through your car’s steering system to assist in turning the wheels at low speeds. Power steering fluid is often red or brown in color and can easily be confused with transmission fluid. Power steering systems are often contained to the front of a vehicle near the front wheels. Leak Solution: BlueDevil Steering Stop Leak.
Identifying and repairing leaks is essential to maintaining any vehicle. Fortunately, repairing leaks does not have to be costly or difficult. BlueDevil has a full line of products formulated specifically to seal any leak your car or truck may have. The seal is safe for your vehicle and is easy to use. Stop wasting time and money continually adding fluid to your leaking car or truck and don’t take the risk of driving your vehicle with dangerously low fluid levels.
Visit gobdp.com to see which product is right for you! Also, check back weekly for more information about how to quickly and easily repair the leaks in your vehicle.
BlueDevil Products can be found on Amazon.com or at AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, O’Reilly Auto Parts, NAPA, and other major auto parts retailers.
16 responses to "What is my Car Leaking?"
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I have a 95 Explorer that has developed a head gasket leak. You can actually see the water run out under the car as the motor runs.
Is it reasonable to expect your product to seal this leak? At $65.00 I’d hate to try it and just see it run out again before it can work.
I used it not long ago to fix a head gasket on a GEO so I know it works, but that one was just blowing air into cooling system.
Thanks,
Wayne
As long as you won’t lose more than about a quart of water during the 50 minute idle you should be fine. If you are losing more than that then it may be a little to extreme of a leak for BlueDevil to have a chance to work properly.
Feel free to contact our tech support team at 888-863-0426 with any further questions.
1998 Jeep Wrangler 2.5 with 5 speed manual. Leak from Transfer Case. What stop leak do you suggest before i buy a new transfer case.
Terry-
You will want to use the BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak. You should be adding 1 ounce of BlueDevil per 1 quart of capacity.
1973 MG Midget with leaking differential oil seal. I see I need the BD OIl Stop Leak product but roughly how long/how many miles before product takes effect.
Many thanks
Paul
Paul-
You should notice results after approximately 100 miles of driving.
-BDP
Front axel shaft seal is leaking. What type of blue devil will work??
Adam-
We recommend using BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak (http://store.gobdp.com/oil-stop-leak-49499/) for the shaft seal that is leaking. You should add 1 ounce of BlueDevil per every 1 quart of capacity (most likely you will not need the full bottle for your application). You can expect to start seeing results after about 100 miles of driving.
Thank you!
-BDP
I recently had Freon added to my 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue. Then the same day I noticed a large leak from the front right slightly center portion of the car. It had sort of an oily feel and was orange in color. I returned the car to the mechanic but he could find no leak and all fluids were full. The large spot is still in my driveway and feels and looks like oil. What do you think caused this leak and what should I do?
Robert,
Thanks for your question about your Oldsmobile intrigue. Based on your description of the fluid that was leaking it likes like it was either power steering fluid or transmission fluid. If the leak hasn’t continued and you have no other evidence of a leak, it will be difficult to track down the exact location. It’s possible that it was a leak from a high temperature or some other abnormal condition so our recommendation would be to continue to keep an eye on your fluid levels over the next few weeks to see if any of them drop significantly to help you discover where your leak is coming from.
Thanks again for your question!
-BD Auto Pro
I. Have a 1997 honda civic dx(automatic trans.), it is leaking oil alot unfortunately. Not sure from where, I’m really not mechanically inclined. At first it wasnt bad but I let it sit for a couple of weeks while I was gone and it was very cold . When I went to start it up it was dead. Jumped it and was warming it up had to go back inside for something, when I saw there was oil all on the ground around the front drivers side tire . Had the timing chain belt changed a year ago . It looks like it is leaking in several spots though . What should I do to get this fixed?
Tia-
Thank you for asking about your Honda Civic. The BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak is a universal application and would be able to treat leaking oil pan gaskets, valve cover seals, rear main seals, etc. It is intended for leaks that are seeping or lightly dripping. Based on your description, you may be losing oil a little too quickly for the product to be affective. Having the leaking seals replaced may be your best option.
Thank you!
-BDP
98 mustang v6. Slight leak from rear main,,less then half at between oil changes. What’s best product to stop
Ronkrimm-
Thank you for asking about your Ford Mustang. If you are 100% sure the leak is coming from the rear main seal, the BlueDevil Rear Main Sealer would be the appropriate product to use. You should expect to start seeing improvement after approximately 100-200 miles of driving.
Thank you!
-BDP
I have a Cadillac 2005 Sedan Deville. It leaked water badley and there were indications of a blown head gasket. After using Blue Devel head gasket sealer it stoped the leak completely. But when I start the engine in the morning it run way rough for about 1 1/2- 2 minutes and clears up perfectly until the next morning which happens each time. My mechanic thinks it’s a head gasket leaking water to a cylinder overnight but the water level are hardly effected and it runs perfectly after warming up. What do you think?
Eugene-
Thank you for asking about your Cadillac. Based on your description, it does sound as though you may still have water/coolant getting into the cylinders. Have you noticed any white smoke/steam coming out of the tailpipe? Please contact our technical support line at 888-863-0426 so that we can get a little better understanding of the vehicle’s condition and be able to make any appropriate recommendations.
Thank you!
-BDP