Weird Oil? Something leak..help?
 

Really weird leak going on in my car...not sever, only 2 or three drops, but it peaks my curiousity....

Under the car, where the engine and transmission connect, there is a metal cowl that is protecting/cooling it seems either the transmission or something.

After driving, tiny bits of something seep out of here. It isn't dark black like oil, and isn't pink/red like ATF. But it does leave 2 or 3 drops after a decently long drive. It seems like something mixed with a small but of oil, as it isn't thick or dark black. If it makes any difference, I accidentally bumped into my primer bump, and the bolt was loose enough where a lot of fuel shot all over inside of engine. Yet this fluid doesn't really smell like diesel. Any idea what this could be/how to fix it/if its serious? Its only a few drips here and there, but it never leaked until recently.
All of the engine and driveline perform as they should.

clean the area and look again later
 

Leaks of any kind are always a pain to diagnose. The best you can do is degrease the area well and then check back when you notice the leak and try to trace it to its origin.
It is difficult to tell on color alone, as it travels it gets contaminated with other residual fluids and by the time it makes it to the floor it could contain oil, diesel tranny fluid and coolant all in one, so the only way to know for sure is cleaning well the entire area. You may also want to try leak detectors if visually you cannot find the source.

Good luck

Hmm
 

It looks like behind the vented area there is a seal up top, but it seams to be like one that just slips in..it seems like some sort of foam..It is in the general area of the leak and is not pliable..I will get up some pics...

Pics
 

Pics of areas affected..

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...o/PICT0791.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...o/PICT0789.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...o/PICT0788.jpg

ive got the same problem.. i just watch my fluids and let it drip a lil.. spots are no bigger than a dime and i park on a big sheetmetal pan so its all good

Bah
 

I am not you though. It is driving me nuts! its foolish, I have inoperable CC and some random problems, but oil leaks irritate the ***** out of me.

BTW is your W123 leaking from the same area?

yep.. from the lil grate area and drips collect on the two lil horn things.. its redish black so its oil and transmission fluid.. with some coolant.. ive got leaks on all three systems the worse the coolant.. leaking coolant plug that is blocked by the IP ( removal of IP,oil filter housing to change .50$ plug) the transmission could be because of a leaking torque converter drain plug or a front seal starting to go .. and the oil drips im contributing to my valve cover gasket or my head gasket starting to leak oil but not mixing with coolant or coolant mixing with it..

i seem so carefree about it.. i know whats wrong i just dont have the money or time to fix it.. im seriosuly thinking about selling this car and getting a vw rabbit 06 model.. im tired of working on it every day just to keep it running

Hmm
 

WTF is this grated area? I am curious about what the hell could be letting oil out of there...

I have no reddish fluid though, so tranmission doesn't seem to be leaking. I have no idea about this part of the car. I am curious if it is something this is fixable in a decent price range or what the hell it is anyhow.

Also
 

Also, this occurs after a decently long drive, and only occurs on the bolts pointed two. The other side is perfectly dry :confused: Its not a huge deal as I know most 30 year old cars will have a few drops of oil come out, but just wondering if its a sign of bigger issues.

What color is your power steering fluid? I use ATF so it is also red. The bottles of power steering are usually clear to a very very light amber hue.

Hmm
 

It has the consistency of power steering fluid, but not the color...its almost a grayish/amber...like its picking up all the junk dripping down..

My question is how the hell would PS fluid be dripping down the side of this area? From what I thought, the pump wasn't even close to this area...maybe lines?

i think that grated area..if i remember correctly..is under the torque converter..perhaps u are leaking oil and it is mixing with atf? I know my SD had that problem for a little then I changed the transmission fluid to mobil 1 synthetic...I checked the dip stick and put too much in so i drained 500ml and everything was a.ok. i havent seen any leaks from that area in a while...now regular motor oil....ive got a few of them..crankshaft seals..turbo drain seals..probably a few others...however i check the oil and it doesnt seem to lower between the changes...maybe all the grease sealed it up ? lol

Hmm
 

I thought it was torque converter. I've been meaning to change the tranny fluid, but haven't got around to it Maybe it would remedy this issue.
At any rate I still have no idea, mor investigation tommorow. Both crankcase and ATF levels are A ok...

Your front tranny seal
 

On these cars as well as the w124's the leaking area you point out usually comes from a leaking front tranmission seal. As the car sits, the tourque converter applies alot of weight to the bottom of the seal deforming it, and it leaks. Check the archives for how to replace and any other things needed. One thing for sure is the tranny has to come out to do the fix, it's a big job.

I have the same leak in my wagon, but I lose only about a cup of fluid every 10k miles, so I live with it, sucks that it leaks, I hate leaks very much, but looking at 12 hours or so to pull the tranny fix the seal, and reinstall is just not worth it. When the trans comes out I will do more to it like shift kit, higher stall converter etc, meaning more hours more money. On mine, my leaking fuid was mixing with drifting engine oil spray on the trans cover, so by the time it droped to the floor it was a reddish black.