Urgent - Is This A Leak And Is It Serious?

alexlyons

thumbnails attached. where the red circle is, it is has a coating of what looks like an oily substance. i am lying under the front of the car and this is on the passenger side

this is urgent as my 3 month engine and gearbox warranty runs out on monday.

first time looking under the car was when i noticed a wet patch on the ground after having the car in place for 15 min. it has been dry all day, car driven to work (3 miles) and back with no issues and didnt look at ground when leaving so no idea if there was a leak there or not.

I tightened up the handbrake a bit in those 15 min just from inside the car. war is on a slight incline and for about 5 seconds it was sitting in first gear engine off no brakes applied at all (foot or hand)

moved car back out on to road and noticed patch.

really worried this is something serious so all help appreciated.

Anan1

What are the fluid levels like in the car?

alexlyons

oil seems to be ok, not sure where or what else to check...

TPM

Bring it in, get it checked out, and get the problem logged before the warranty expires

alexlyons

are many places open on saturdays? and would they charge for looking and logging?

Anan1

alexlyons wrote: »

oil seems to be ok, not sure where or what else to check...

Check coolant, power steering and brake fluid levels before you drive. Where's the oil on the dipstick? TPM means the place where you bought the car.

Plug

Either a drive shaft oil seal or a selector shaft seal or it could be leaking where both sides of the box meet(unlikely). Most likely it will be the selector shaft seal or driveshaft oil seal. common enough in the Ford Focus. Looks to be bad enough. Bring it to a mechanic.

Johntegr

When was it last serviced?

Personally, I've spilled oil when filling back up and then I've to clean it off otherwise it slowly trickles down the engine and makes it look like it's leaking as it gathers at the point where it drips from.

If your visible levels are fine, I'd be checking seals/levels that you can't gauge without opening/removing. But TBH, the drives look bone dry to me and it looks very "fresh" to be leaking from somewhere it's being used.

alexlyons

no idea where brake fluid is to check.

power steering is at max
coolant is at max
oil is at max

only have the car three months and it was in very good nick although no service history. Haven't driven it much and my service kit was shipped today.

to be honest i don't really car what it is, i just want to find out and want it to be decisively fixed or cleared. its still in warranty so if it needs to be fixed then fine. it only has 57000km on the clock.

any answer to if places are open saturday and if they'll charge for looking and logging?

Plug

Gearbox oil it is.

alexlyons

Plug wrote: »

Gearbox oil it is.

you reckon leaking? or are you certain its leaking?

that was the first thing a poster on another forum said

Johntegr

alexlyons wrote: »

no idea where brake fluid is to check.

power steering is at max
coolant is at max
oil is at max

only have the car three months and it was in very good nick although no service history. Haven't driven it much and my service kit was shipped today.

to be honest i don't really car what it is, i just want to find out and want it to be decisively fixed or cleared. its still in warranty so if it needs to be fixed then fine. it only has 57000km on the clock.

any answer to if places are open saturday and if they'll charge for looking and logging?

Only way to find out is clean it all off, put a tray/pan under it overnight and check in the morning.

alexlyons

alexlyons wrote: »

you reckon leaking? or are you certain its leaking?

that was the first thing a poster on another forum said

How could he be certain?
Your gearbox has oil on it and there's an oil stain on the ground

alexlyons

Cheers folks.
Bought from trader, not a dealership. Written 3 month warranty and I know he'll stand over it.
Who decides where it gets look at/fixed. I want a ford dealership but no doubt he'll have a different opinion!

Nissan doctor

The oil stain on the ground doesn't look like it came from your car TBH. If it was leaking badly enough to leave a mark that size then the mark on the ground would be wet.

You do have oil weeping from the join in the gearbox sections but its actually fairly minor. A good clean down and tighten the bolts that you can see in the pics would often sort a week like that.

alexlyons

Nissan doctor wrote: »

The oil stain on the ground doesn't look like it came from your car TBH. If it was leaking badly enough to leave a mark that size then the mark on the ground would be wet.

it was the only car sitting in that location in the last week. no other car of any kind has been there, and its definitely an oil stain from my car. other water stains made since then have dried up.

Nissan doctor

alexlyons wrote: »

it was the only car sitting in that location in the last week. no other car of any kind has been there, and its definitely an oil stain from my car. other water stains made since then have dried up.

Water will dry but oil won't.

Think about it, how would your car have leaked badly enough to cause a stain that size and then stop long enough to have allowed the stain to dry...bearing in mind that oil spilled on the ground would not dry up in the space of a couple of hours....in fact it wouldn't at all unless washed away. You can see from a mile away that stain is not fresh.

Having seen the underside of more cars then I car to remember, that stain on your gearbox is not a leak that would cause any size of oil stain on the ground.

But like I said, as minor as it is, I'd still mention it to the garage you bought it off.

alexlyons

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Water will dry but oil won't.

exactly. other water stains have dried up, where as this stain hasn't, hence it is oil.

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Think about it, how would your car have leaked badly enough to cause a stain that size and then stop long enough to have allowed the stain to dry...bearing in mind that oil spilled on the ground would not dry up in the space of a couple of hours....in fact it wouldn't at all unless washed away. You can see from a mile away that stain is not fresh.

i know for a fact the stain wasn't there before i parked the car, as i had just cleaned the ground and it was spotless. the stain is not wet to touch, it is just soaked in slightly. doesn't really mean its not fresh. the car was there for about 15 minutes, maybe 20 or so. the oil hasn't dried u at all, its still there, i just arrived home and the stain is the same.
my very uneducated guess is that say for example it is the gearbox oil. that there wasn't a huge amount in the box, it leaked and has now run out...?

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Having seen the underside of more cars then I car to remember, that stain on your gearbox is not a leak that would cause any size of oil stain on the ground.

But like I said, as minor as it is, I'd still mention it to the garage you bought it off.

i don't doubt you hear and tbh i really value your opinion here as you are well respected as on other threads and on the forum. but im afraid i have to tell you that stain was caused by my car from when it was there, and it is not water. thats all i can say for 100% certainty

Nissan doctor

alexlyons wrote: »

exactly. other water stains have dried up, where as this stain hasn't, hence it is oil.



i know for a fact the stain wasn't there before i parked the car, as i had just cleaned the ground and it was spotless. the stain is not wet to touch, it is just soaked in slightly. doesn't really mean its not fresh. the car was there for about 15 minutes, maybe 20 or so. the oil hasn't dried u at all, its still there, i just arrived home and the stain is the same.
my very uneducated guess is that say for example it is the gearbox oil. that there wasn't a huge amount in the box, it leaked and has now run out...?


i don't doubt you hear and tbh i really value your opinion here as you are well respected as on other threads and on the forum. but im afraid i have to tell you that stain was caused by my car from when it was there, and it is not water. thats all i can say for 100% certainty

If your gearbox had run out of oil, you'd know about it VERY quickly. i.e it would struggle to last your 3 mile drive home without becoming extremely noisy and/or failing.

Try this then.... get a little oil and pour it onto the ground beside the current stain and see what it looks like after 20 mins, or even a few hours. Or, park the car somewhere else and see do you get another stain.

I have stains on the ground in front of the garage at home that have been there for over a year and you can still see them.

All just my opinion though of course.

Esel

As you are worried, you should definitely bring it back to where you bought it before the warranty expires.