C70: Pink fluid dripping under car at high rpm ?

[krussel]

Hello its been a while :-)

I heed some help.

Short version.

I have a clear / pink fluid dripping from under the right cross member. The only pink / red fluid in the car is auto transmission fluid. The fluid only drips at high RPM 5500 + on tick over and up to 5k nothing comes out. It seems to be running down the block near the crank shaft next to oil filter Which of course is the other side from the auto gearbox. Iam confused. Is there a auto fluid pipe on that side of the block.













Long version.

I noticed this issue after starting and running the car from it winter lay up. As mentioned no small puddle of fluid after 30 mins tick over only when I gave it a rev to 6k rpm did the fluid drip out. Now at first I thought water pump as the pink liquid was coming just below that. Also the car was running on the wrong red coolant.

I noticed that the top radiator hose to thermostat had at some time had a small leak. Thinking water pump I ran the car into my local garage where they run it but could not find any leak in the cooling system. They even pressure tested it. The leak had stopped (low rpm).

I took the car home and decided the change the radiator hose and flush out the red coolant for proper Volvo green. I flushed the system 6 times until the water came out clear before replacing it with Volvo coolant. Let the car idle and run for 45 mins and no leaks.

Today I ran the car for about 20 mins increasing the rpm up to 4k and holding for 2 mins = no leak. I chanced a rev to 6k and then the pink liquid leaked. I got underneath but cant see where its coming from other than above the crank pulley. I trapped some on white paper and its deffo pink. The power steering fluid is a clear / green. The only pink fluid in the car as far as iam aware is auto transmission fluid which I changed last year.

So any help is appreciated. Is there any transmission fluid pipe work on the crank side of the engine ?

Thanks in advance.

[doingitsideways]

What colour is your power steering fluid?

Edit:
Just seen and your PAS fluid is green.
As you were

[capt jack]

Power steering fluid? The pump and reservoir are directly above that front chassis member.

Jack

Nope! Just seen the other comment!

[krussel]

Yes i changed the fluid to green a couple of years back. I did a dip test with kitchen towel and it came out clear.

Its weird as the power steering fluid would be right in the correct place

[krussel]

Whats confusing is that the power steering had the wrong red fluid when i got the car and i drove it for a year like that. However i just checked the level and its spot on.

I just checked the water bottle and it does look like it could have dropped 2-3 mm from the line i marked when i topped it up.

I am still not sure its not the water pump seal giving out at high rpm but why is it coming out pink ? Dry sediment on the block below the pump. trouble is you cant see anything due to the cambelt cover. I even tried a USB endoscope but could not see anything.

Its doing my nut in :-/

[Aubergine S70]

From what I suspect it’s a common problem on these. This happened on my previous S70, the torque converter weighs an absolute tonne. Due to the weight it pushes down on the rear crank oil seal and causes it to fail. Transmission fluid will then seep out and give symptoms like yours.
Hope this helps

[krussel]

Originally Posted by Aubergine S70

From what I suspect it’s a common problem on these. This happened on my previous S70, the torque converter weighs an absolute tonne. Due to the weight it pushes down on the rear crank oil seal and causes it to fail. Transmission fluid will then seep out and give symptoms like yours.
Hope this helps

Thanks for the reply. Crap iam hoping that ive not over filled the fluid in the transmission causing too much pressure.

Is not the torque converter on the other side of the engine though ? i thought engine oil would come through the crank seal ?

[ITSv40]

Have you tried rubbing it between your thumb and finger to see whether it is oil or water based. Looking at your photos, it looks like water based to me and I would plump for a leaking water pump, although usually when a pump fails it covers the back of the block and engine bay in a white mist. I think it could be that the pump has only just started to leak and you haven't got to the white mist stage.

[krussel]

Originally Posted by ITSv40

Have you tried rubbing it between your thumb and finger to see whether it is oil or water based. Looking at your photos, it looks like water based to me and I would plump for a leaking water pump, although usually when a pump fails it covers the back of the block and engine bay in a white mist. I think it could be that the pump has only just started to leak and you haven't got to the white mist stage.

No vapour or steam etc. However its only coming out at high rpm.

I tried the rub test, smell etc but i just could not be sure at a guess i would say coolant. The small drop in coolant ties in with water pump seal. Its just the colour but i have only just changed the coolant to green. There is baked pink sediment splashed around down there as i think the top hose leaked for a while. Maybe the green coolant would change colour as it flowed.

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by krussel

No vapour or steam etc. However its only coming out at high rpm.

I tried the rub test, smell etc but i just could not be sure at a guess i would say coolant. The small drop in coolant ties in with water pump seal. Its just the colour but i have only just changed the coolant to green. There is baked pink sediment splashed around down there as i think the top hose leaked for a while. Maybe the green coolant would change colour as it flowed.

I still think it is water pump leaking. If you look down the back of the engine - between the cam belt cover and bulkhead - you will most probably see some white or brown staining down the cam belt cover/ block.

Have you taken the top cam belt cover off to get a better look? The top covers come off relatively easily and although will not expose as far down as the water pump should give you a better view.