[s-cars] What's leaking

[Brett Dikeman]

On Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 9:00 PM, Tony Curran <tony.curran at sympatico.ca> wrote:

> Was looking around in the engine bay for the t-piece near the firewall (to
> be replaced during timing belt change) when I notice some moisture on the
> hoses around the pressure regulator valve.

Which pressure regulator?  Fuel pressure?  Which hoses?  Can you snap
a picture (make sure it's sharp...a shop light will help your camera
focus.  Another trick: a sheet of white paper off-camera can act as a
poor man's 'bounce' and do wonders for light from an on-camera flash)
and post it using something like imageshack?

> It was a very thin layer of oily
> substance. Any idea where the oily substance is coming from?

What does it smell like?  Pentosin, for example, has a very
characteristic smell and feel.  I don't know how to describe it, but
you can crack the reservoir and take a whiff for comparison purposes.

How does the crankcase breather system look?  That's what immediately
popped to mind in that approximate neighborhood.

In an engine compartment which has had a lot of minor leaks and dirt
buildup over the years, it sometimes helps to spray a cleaner (a good
example is p21s orange) and work it in with a paintbrush, hose
off...drive it, then check back again in a day / week.  Just don't go
nuts- a slightly oily engine is a corrosion-and-rust-free engine.
Also, obviously do it on a WARM but not hot engine.

-B