leak on 99 S 10

slim · September 16, 2004

Any help here would be appreciated. I took my truck in for the above problem. Mechanic says its the crankshaft position sensor and replaces. Drive to work and sure enough more of the same fluid on the ground under the front of truck. Take it back, now claims its the water pump. It does have red/orange dex cool, but it is oily in nature. Could this be power steering fluid? Thanks for any help.

blue2kzr2 · September 16, 2004

PS fluid on my 00 doesn't look red. Keep in mind, there's a tranny cooler in the radiator, maybe either that or the lines going to it is/are leaking. I wouldn't let them throw parts at it, especially if you have to pay for them. They need to DIAGNOSE it before tossing parts in...

o4yukonxl · September 17, 2004

Power steering and tranny fluid are pretty much the same. Take it to a do it yourself car wash and clean the engine and under it. Then look for the leak.

95whtZR2 · September 17, 2004

Tranny fluid and power steering fluid are pretty much the same, true. But usually power steering fluid is clear, or an extremely light brown. Is it a deep red or a light red. I assume you know the diff between the the two, considering you did say it looked oily in nature. And I also assume it is an automatic... Along with assuming it is coming from the front of the engine... in which I would second the guess at it being the tranny cooler/lines. What year is your s10?

Tom

az'03Silverado · September 17, 2004

Ah the red mystery liquid. You'd think they'd make dex-cool blue or something so we can all tell the freakin' difference. I had the same problem with my Silverado. I had red crap dripping underneath and it was really hard to tell where it was coming from because it was on the oil pan and the tranny cooler lines. I took it to Chevy and it turns out that it was coolant leaking from the water pump gasket. They pulled the pump, replaced the gaskets and all is well. I could have sworn it was tranny fluid. One difference that I noticed on the driveway. The coolant is made of 50% water so, even though it's oily, most of it will evaporate away when left in the sun. That might be one clue to help you. Good luck!

slim · September 17, 2004

Turns out azo3 is right. It was the water pump seal that was bad. And your are right that the mystery fluid did evaporate after being in the sun all day. So it is fixed and I am broke!!! Thanks to everyone for all your help.