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Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type...


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inferno272
Novice

Jul 16, 2015, 11:58 AM

Post #1 of 9 (1360 views)
Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type... Sign In

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v297/inferno272/20150715_121201.jpg

Blech. Firefox crashed as I had a huge writeup on whats going on...guess ill have to start over.

Hi all. I have a 2001 honda accord lx 4 cylinder. its got about 150k(ish) miles on it.

About 2 months or so ago I started to notice a weird smell coming from the car after getting out of it. The smell stayed and after a while i got a check engine light. I ran the codes at my local autozone and it came back as catalytic converter issues...like p0420 or something like that.

so i started to shop around for new catalytic converters, assuming the bad smell was just the catalyst failing. i wasnt in a rush since, well, i passed emissions not too long before this started and I was looking for the best price. well a few weeks back, the check engine light went away...and the smell persisted. So I decided to actually try to diagnose the problem. After driving the car around i pulled into my garage and noticed the smell, so i popped open the hood and after some thorough inspections I noticed this black cylinder thing in the back left corner of the engine bay. and sorta behind/under it there was a steady dripping of a fluid of some sort. i tried my best to follow the dripping path of the fluid and lo-and-behold it ended up falling on the flex pipe right before the catalytic converter. this fluid was immediately burning off and giving off the nasty, almost burnt rubber, type smell. when i checked back in the morning, the part had stopped leaking, and theres no puddles on the ground...meaning whatever that part is, only seems to leak when the car is running, and the fluid, whatever it is, either burns off on the pipe immediately, or it evaporates overnight.

I'm not sure what this part is, but I could use your help identifying it. Also if anyone has any ideas what kinda fluid it is that would help me decide if this is something I can drive to a mechanic or if i should try to patch the problem myself... ive done some basic car work..brakes, power steering flush, shocks, etc. but im not a car guru like you guys are.

in terms of fluid levels, everything looks good except for the coolant level which is at minimum...but i havent touched that fluid in like forever, so that could be just the normal wear and tear of the car.

ideas?


inferno272
Novice

Jul 16, 2015, 12:04 PM

Post #2 of 9 (1356 views)
Re: Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type... Sign In

ive got a ton more pictures of the part, and a short video of the drip/leak that i took as well if you guys need to see it.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Jul 16, 2015, 12:53 PM

Post #3 of 9 (1350 views)
Re: Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type... Sign In

What kind of fluid is leaking? Have you checked the fluid levels?

I doubt that can is leaking anything. I believe it is just an empty can that serves as a vacuum storage tank.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



inferno272
Novice

Jul 16, 2015, 1:13 PM

Post #4 of 9 (1347 views)
Re: Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type... Sign In

hi hammer time,

in terms of fluid levels, everything looks ok except the coolant level which is close to minimum.

i couldnt tell what kinda fluid it was because it was so damn hot around that area. and the next day it was all gone.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Jul 16, 2015, 1:36 PM

Post #5 of 9 (1342 views)
Re: Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type... Sign In

Are you sure it's not just water from the condensation drain?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



inferno272
Novice

Jul 16, 2015, 2:12 PM

Post #6 of 9 (1338 views)
Re: Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type... Sign In

yeah, pretty sure. you can see it drip down and sizzle on the flex pipe...ive got a video of the drip, would that help?


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Jul 16, 2015, 2:19 PM

Post #7 of 9 (1337 views)
Re: Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type... Sign In

Can you catch some on a paper towel? If water it will dry, if antifreeze it won't dry so fast at all and would smell.


Recovery tank marks do not indicate if coolant is low if there's enough of a leak and it has to be a tight system for that to work. Must know what it is at the radiator.


Could be water but almost never see drains for A/C that are placed that way. If so and only that check out if a rubber elbow if you can turn it away from hot anything,


T



Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Jul 16, 2015, 3:30 PM

Post #8 of 9 (1327 views)
Re: Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type... Sign In

The drain is going to be right behind and slightly below that can and may look like it's coming from the can.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



inferno272
Novice

Jul 16, 2015, 6:39 PM

Post #9 of 9 (1321 views)
Re: Uknown Part leaking fluid..need some help identifying part, and fluid type... Sign In

ok, im going to check tomorrow. thanks.






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