I don't know what this leak is

I had a wonderful trouble-free summer without many issues with my cars.

Having two old cars is great, but sometimes neither one is in running condition!

Today I tried to figure out where this puddle came from:

It seemed to be oily yesterday, but now it has dried up.


Nothing appeared to be dripping from anywhere inside the hood.

I did find this tube disconnected, but it seems to go from the air cleaner to the exhaust manifold.

Probably something to do with the smog system- to recycle the dirty air.

Next I checked the radiator, it seemed to be a few quarts low.

I filled it back up again. I spilled a little.

It was half a quart low on oil, but that's normal for an old car.

Here is a better look at the dried puddle, and some of the coolant I just spilled.

The first thing that came to mind was the water pump.


One way to check the water pump is to run the car (while it's still cold)

The water in the radiator cap (in the picture above,) will swirl around.

I tested this, so the water pump still works.


Nothing dripped out while I looked at the car as it ran.

I washed the old oil off the driveway to get a better idea of what is coming out.


I also checked the other fluids like the brakes:

I hate checking the brake fluid!

The lid on this container is really hard to get back on there.

I added a teaspoon and it was full.


The transmission was also a concern, so I checked it as well.

I've never had to really add transmission fluid to either car.

Yesterday I was afraid this was the leak, because this fluid is kinda watery.

But today the leak definitely seems to be water.


I will probably move the car around a little but not drive it the next few days.

If it's the water pump, it will begin to pour water out.

Until I find out, it's not safe to drive.

(I have killed a motor by letting it overheat, and it's not pretty.)


Today was Sunday. I will have a talk with the mechanic tomorrow and see what he thinks.

He had surgery about 3 weeks ago, but seems to be feeling better these days.

At least we'll have something interesting to talk about.