Is this going to be expensive?

20aday

Good morning,

Arriving home after a trip out to the supermarket I noticed a puddle underneath my car (Ford Fiesta late 2008) and it's leaking anti-freeze 😫.

Appears to be coming from underneath where the handrake would be (from what I could see). Know it'll need sorting ASAP but just wondered if I'm looking at an expensive repair bill.

Many thanks.

cymruchris

How do you know it's anti-freeze? Does it have a distinctive colour? Asking as some cars drop water from the air-con system when it's been running a while.

20aday

Sorry, I should've mentioned this in my original post (not been a good week...) knew it was antifreeze as it was pink.

cymruchris

So you've ruled out the common misconception - good - you'll need to open the bonnet to see if you can identify where the leak is dripping from. If it's just a drip drip drip - it's unlikely to be a hose. Have a look around the expansion tank filler to see if it's wet there - there's a chance that an air lock in the system could have caused some blow-back. Although dripping from where the handbrake would be - it's likely leaking further forwards and running back on the under-engine cover and dripping at the first available spot. If you can't see anywhere it's dripping from - you'll need to get it into a garage to check. When cold of course - also check the coolant level in the expansion tank to see how far it's dropped - top it up with plain water for now if it's very low. 

Goudy

The expansion tank is notorious for cracking and leaking on these, particularly around the inlet/outlet pipes.
The coolant will run down the back of the engine and out underneath in the middle of the car.

Shouldn't be too expensive if it is, genuine Ford tank is around £35.

20aday

Thank you both very much for getting back to me, you've both been incredibly helpful.

It'll be 13 years old this October so I do expect to encounter some age-related issues but knowing it might not be as expensive as previously feared is a massive relief!