car leaking something

Kilty_2

johnnyroper wrote: »

what difference will having hand brake off make,if there is a brake fluid leak it will leak regardless the handbrake is a mechanical system and not hydraulic.
also if it was brake fluid i would expect it to have a soft brake pedal,if it is big enough to leave a stain then under pressure with foot on brake it would come out a lot faster.

i would guess at rear diff oil or maybe a leaking shock?? it is impossible to diagnose this sort of thing without seeing the car i would suggest you get it to a garage to have it checked out.

My car had a faulty rear caliper that leaked fluid after a "repair" to free a siezed caliper- it'd leave a small pool when parked for a few hours. (failed MOT due to parking brake efficiency, garage "repaired" the caliper, passed MOT, then started losing fluid)

Leaving the handbrake off stopped the leak.

I assume this is because the rear brakes have very little effect on a FWD car under normal braking conditions, whereas the handbrake cable applies the brakes fully....

Lost literally no fluid at all when driving.

vaio

ali-t wrote: »

......Just out of curiosity, what is the fluid that leaks out of the shock absorbers?

Oil...........

ali-t

Thanks vaio, I didn't think it would be as the fluid was clear rather than dark.

I picked the car up today and they only fixed the one that was leaking and the cost on the invoice was £160ish. They repaired it under the warranty so no cost to me - yeeha! thanks for all the advice, it was really appreciated.

KillerWatt

ali-t wrote: »

I picked the car up today and they only fixed the one that was leaking

They only changed one shock absorber?

Get it back and tell them to do the job properly, shock absorbers should always be changed in axle pairs to ensure equal performance/handling.

ali-t

KillerWatt wrote: »

They only changed one shock absorber?

Get it back and tell them to do the job properly, shock absorbers should always be changed in axle pairs to ensure equal performance/handling.

I think I will take it elsewhere to get it looked at and check the quality of the work that was done on the one they did change. Heading out to scrub the driveway today so I can tell if they have fixed it.

The garage has a reputation for being a rip off and some shoddy work so I would prefer to take it elsewhere and get an independent perspective.

Keith

If you can't get it off, grab a bottle of Gunk Drive & Path cleaner, worked wonders on mine

ali-t

my dad recommended the same product today but I was planning to clean it without spending any money so tried washing up liquid and a scrubbing brush with no success. I might try bleach or cillit bang tomorrow and do it the MSE way. I have a feeling that cillit bang will disintegrate the paving slabs though, nasty stuff that it is.

Keith

I had tried everything and had given up, it removed 6 months old dried in stains!

ali-t

Keith wrote: »

I had tried everything and had given up, it removed 6 months old dried in stains!

Jeez, my dad is ALWAYS right!! Looks like I will be giving it a shot then

johnnyroper

Kilty wrote: »

My car had a faulty rear caliper that leaked fluid after a "repair" to free a siezed caliper- it'd leave a small pool when parked for a few hours. (failed MOT due to parking brake efficiency, garage "repaired" the caliper, passed MOT, then started losing fluid)

Leaving the handbrake off stopped the leak.

I assume this is because the rear brakes have very little effect on a FWD car under normal braking conditions, whereas the handbrake cable applies the brakes fully....

Lost literally no fluid at all when driving.

the reason i asked was because i think the handbrake on a xtrail is inboard shoes so no hydraulics used to apply all done mechanically.

as i turned out i was the shock leaking as i suggested was possible in my first post