what color are the fluids in my car?

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

DOT3 brake fluid, which is red

I've got a bottle of gold DOT 3 brake fluid sitting in the front trunk of the 914 which would dispute that. I've only seen specialty brake fluids that were red or purple, and I highly doubt that he's got specialty (read: expensive) brake fluid in his car.

ZV

Actually, I just flushed the brake fluid in my GF's '93 Toyota 4x4 a few weeks ago and the recommended (and cheapest I could find )DOT3 brake fluid that I used was red.

 

[Evadman]

Actually, I just flushed the brake fluid in my GF's '93 Toyota 4x4 a few weeks ago and the recommended (and cheapest I could find )DOT3 brake fluid that I used was red.

Depends on the maker I guess. I still have some large bottles of dot3,4 and 5 in my garage. The 3 and 4 are both very light cold. The dot 5 is clear. I don't even remember why I have dot 5 Probably just cause I thought it would be cool to have.

 

[Evadman]

Oh, and your power stearing fluid is usualy red as well. Most use regular transmision fluid. Some do use real hydralic fluid though, in that case it will be brown.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Brown and foul smelling ( to you anyway ): Differential Fluid.

Ahh, the smell of 90 weight hypoid gear oil. This is also what is used in manual transmissions. (Unless, of course, the previous owner was really dense and put ATF in the gearbox.) :|

ZV

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Brown and foul smelling ( to you anyway ): Differential Fluid.

Ahh, the smell of 90 weight hypoid gear oil. This is also what is used in manual transmissions. (Unless, of course, the previous owner was really dense and put ATF in the gearbox.) :|

I think it smells good.

 

[toph99]

fluids can also be:
Orange for cooland(Dexcool)
clear/brown power steering fluid

DOT5 brake fluid is synthetic for audi/vw's if i remember correctly... or was that DOT4... hm. one of them is synthetic, one of them is silicone based i think. i'll check when i'm at work

 

[Evadman]

DOT5 brake fluid is synthetic for audi/vw's if i remember correctly... or was that DOT4... hm. one of them is synthetic, one of them is silicone based i think. i'll check when i'm at work

DOT 5 is silicone aised and used for high performance aplications where dot 3 and 4 can boil in the lines causing brake loss. Dot 5 is not compatible with dot 3 or 4. the system must be designed for Dot 5.

And I forgot about the pretty orange coolant that GM used for a while. Thanks for pointing that out. It also has a "clotting" agent that will self seal leaks in the system if I remember correctly.

 

[Lithium381]

well it sounds good that it might be steering fluid, that's probalby not quite as expensive(well, as a tranny) the power steering has been acting up recently......sometimes it's on sometimes it's not, heh, so i have to concentrate while drivng.....i'm going to bust out the user manyual and have a look around...

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: Lithium381
well it sounds good that it might be steering fluid, that's probalby not quite as expensive(well, as a tranny) the power steering has been acting up recently......sometimes it's on sometimes it's not, heh, so i have to concentrate while drivng.....i'm going to bust out the user manyual and have a look around...

I would like to take this time to point out that your user manual is probably worthless in this instance.

Take your car to one of those self serve car wash places. Wash the underside well and drive home. then you will be bale to see where the leak is coming from.

<edit>
Oh, and be careful to not get the top of the engine wet. Some sensors do not like water.

 

[440sixpack]

This is completely unrelated, but when I first read the title of this thread I thought it said "what color are the fluids in my EAR?

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Lithium381
well it sounds good that it might be steering fluid, that's probalby not quite as expensive(well, as a tranny) the power steering has been acting up recently......sometimes it's on sometimes it's not, heh, so i have to concentrate while drivng.....i'm going to bust out the user manyual and have a look around...

Ahhh, now why didn't you say this to start with? If the power steering is going on and off, then that's probably where the fluid is coming from. This might actually be caused by a previous owner using ATF in the power steering because IIRC all Hondas (my 1988 Accord for sure) require Power Steering Fluid (NOT ATF) in the Power Steering system. Using ATF in the power steering system on my Accord can ruin the system.

ZV

 

[Lithium381]

just checked the fluids in my car.......power-steering fluid was dangerously low, so that explains the fact that i have a harder time steering, i bought some of that, -put it in, HUGE improvement.....though it was clear, the new stuff, the stuff on the street, now i take it back, isn't red.....it's an orange/brown color.......dripping from a "tank" that's slightly off set to the left of center, and most of the way back in the engine, on the very bottom.......oil is fine, washer fluid is fine, anti-freeze is fine(though my car still overheats)

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: Lithium381
just checked the fluids in my car.......power-steering fluid was dangerously low, so that explains the fact that i have a harder time steering, i bought some of that, -put it in, HUGE improvement.....though it was clear, the new stuff, the stuff on the street, now i take it back, isn't red.....it's an orange/brown color.......dripping from a "tank" that's slightly off set to the left of center, and most of the way back in the engine, on the very bottom.......oil is fine, washer fluid is fine, anti-freeze is fine(though my car still overheats)

any way you can take a picture?

 

[ohtwell]

Originally posted by: Evadman
Fluid colors:

Red: Trans fluid and Ford Brake Fluid.
Green: Coolant.
Light goldish: Brake fluid. Turns darker as it gets older. Can turn into a very very dark brown.
Brown: Oil.
Brown and foul smelling ( to you anyway ): Differential Fluid.

They make coolant that is orange also.


: ) Amanda

 

[Lithium381]

Originally posted by: Evadman

Originally posted by: Lithium381
just checked the fluids in my car.......power-steering fluid was dangerously low, so that explains the fact that i have a harder time steering, i bought some of that, -put it in, HUGE improvement.....though it was clear, the new stuff, the stuff on the street, now i take it back, isn't red.....it's an orange/brown color.......dripping from a "tank" that's slightly off set to the left of center, and most of the way back in the engine, on the very bottom.......oil is fine, washer fluid is fine, anti-freeze is fine(though my car still overheats)

any way you can take a picture?

underneith the car? hrm, okay, i'll have to do it tomorow, since there isn't much light out, that and i have to go to work now(yay) so i'll get one posted up tomorow morning and keep you posted on the leak......no, i checked and it's not a body

 

[Cyberian]

Originally posted by: Bollocks

Originally posted by: Jzero
It could be blood. Check for a body in your trunk.

Maybe his mom is menstruating and she dribbled down the path?!

You and Will Rogers never met, I assume.

 

[Lithium381]

Originally posted by: Bollocks

Originally posted by: Jzero
It could be blood. Check for a body in your trunk.

Maybe his mom is menstruating and she dribbled down the path?!

comming from a new guy.....geez who does he think he is, JERK! Sheesh to bust in here and talk about my mom....

 

[toph99]

power steering fluid starts out clear-paleblueish and then turns brownish. if it's red it means there is rust, so somehow water got into it. check the power steering hoses for leaks, as well as the seals around the ends of the hoses.

 

[Lithium381]

Well, i think i solved the problem....if i'm correct, it was power steering fluid.....it got quite low after i just had filled it up....i got the manual(repair book for my car) at an auto-store, and it had some pictures in the section under steering/suspension.....it looked just like the area leaking, so i had a little look around, and there was a nut that was loose....i got a full two - three rotations on that thing, till it was tight again. So, i'm hoping that sovles that problem! i'll see in the morning if any leakage has occured, i wiped off most everything around there, so now a leak will be fairly obvious! yay, i feel better/safer now