E39 bodily fluid?
 

the other day I found a small pool of what looked like plain water on
the garage floor about center of the car's engine bay when parked. It
was about the viscosity of thin oil and had no noticeable smell. It
wasn't brake fluid or engine oil. It only happened once. Is there
anything in the front end of a stick shift E39 that could have leaked
a fluid like this?
--
Dean Dark

Air conditioning sometimes leaks water from round that area. Thats normal I
believe.


MC


"Dean Dark" > wrote in message
...
> the other day I found a small pool of what looked like plain water on
> the garage floor about center of the car's engine bay when parked. It
> was about the viscosity of thin oil and had no noticeable smell. It
> wasn't brake fluid or engine oil. It only happened once. Is there
> anything in the front end of a stick shift E39 that could have leaked
> a fluid like this?
> --
> Dean Dark

In article >,
Dean Dark > wrote:
> the other day I found a small pool of what looked like plain water on
> the garage floor about center of the car's engine bay when parked. It
> was about the viscosity of thin oil and had no noticeable smell. It
> wasn't brake fluid or engine oil. It only happened once. Is there
> anything in the front end of a stick shift E39 that could have leaked
> a fluid like this?

If it was oil, check the pipes from the power steering reservoir. These
often leak. They're crimped in place, and the crimps are crap. Remove the
offending crimp and replace with a worm drive clip.

--
*If God had wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them on my knees

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Have you had the car long? If the liquid is clear, not oily and has no
smell then it is water. My E39 will drain its A/C condensation onto
the garage floor around an area just forward and below the gear shift
lever. That's what's intended.

It does that even in Winter. We have real Winters here and sure enough
there was a small puddle there just a couple of weeks ago. I leave my
A/C on to clear humidity from the cabin.

On 27 Feb 2005 16:28:29 -0800, "Michael Low" >
wrote:

>Have you had the car long? If the liquid is clear, not oily and has no
>smell then it is water. My E39 will drain its A/C condensation onto
>the garage floor around an area just forward and below the gear shift
>lever. That's what's intended.
>
>It does that even in Winter. We have real Winters here and sure enough
>there was a small puddle there just a couple of weeks ago. I leave my
>A/C on to clear humidity from the cabin.

Thanks for the idea, but no, this is not a/c condensate water, it sat
on the floor without drying up for more than a day which is what drew
my attention to it. It's a clear fluid (like water) but it's like a
light oil in consistency. I'll check the power steering reservoir, as
Mr. Plowman suggested, once I figure out where it is. It's not listed
in the drivers' handbook...
--
Dean Dark

"Dean Dark" > wrote in message
...
> On 27 Feb 2005 16:28:29 -0800, "Michael Low"
> >
> wrote:
>
>>Have you had the car long? If the liquid is clear, not oily and has
>>no
>>smell then it is water. My E39 will drain its A/C condensation onto
>>the garage floor around an area just forward and below the gear
>>shift
>>lever. That's what's intended.
>>
>>It does that even in Winter. We have real Winters here and sure
>>enough
>>there was a small puddle there just a couple of weeks ago. I leave
>>my
>>A/C on to clear humidity from the cabin.
>
> Thanks for the idea, but no, this is not a/c condensate water, it
> sat
> on the floor without drying up for more than a day which is what
> drew
> my attention to it. It's a clear fluid (like water) but it's like a
> light oil in consistency. I'll check the power steering reservoir,
> as
> Mr. Plowman suggested, once I figure out where it is. It's not
> listed
> in the drivers' handbook...

It does sound like power steering fluid. The hoses to / from the
reservoir are known to leak. Usually juist requires replacement of
the original crimp-on clamp with a worm-gear clamp (like a small
radiator hose clamp).

-Fred W

The water condensate from my car also stayed on the floor for longer
than a day but it was 100% water. Dextron III ATF is what the steering
system uses and it is not clear. It is a medium-weight red oil. Try
soaking up some of the fluid. If it stains red and is oily then you
have an ATF III leak.

The power steering reservoir of my 540 is on the left next to the strut
tower. The black cap has a splined star-shaped grip pattern.

If you have that much ATF coming from the system you may feel a
vibration from your steering wheel when the engine is cold and you turn
the wheel to its limits. Refilling the ATF can be a pain if the system
got low enough to collect air bubbles. Make sure tha car is level and
cold when you check the level.

"Michael Low" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> The water condensate from my car also stayed on the floor for longer
> than a day but it was 100% water. Dextron III ATF is what the
> steering
> system uses and it is not clear. It is a medium-weight red oil.
> Try
> soaking up some of the fluid. If it stains red and is oily then you
> have an ATF III leak.
>
> The power steering reservoir of my 540 is on the left next to the
> strut
> tower. The black cap has a splined star-shaped grip pattern.
>
> If you have that much ATF coming from the system you may feel a
> vibration from your steering wheel when the engine is cold and you
> turn
> the wheel to its limits. Refilling the ATF can be a pain if the
> system
> got low enough to collect air bubbles. Make sure tha car is level
> and
> cold when you check the level.
>

Some use ATF (red) and some use Pentosin (clear) for power steering
fluid. It should say in the owners manual.

-Fred W

On 28 Feb 2005 08:50:41 -0800, "Michael Low" >
wrote:

>The water condensate from my car also stayed on the floor for longer
>than a day but it was 100% water. Dextron III ATF is what the steering
>system uses and it is not clear. It is a medium-weight red oil. Try
>soaking up some of the fluid. If it stains red and is oily then you
>have an ATF III leak.
>
>The power steering reservoir of my 540 is on the left next to the strut
>tower. The black cap has a splined star-shaped grip pattern.
>
>If you have that much ATF coming from the system you may feel a
>vibration from your steering wheel when the engine is cold and you turn
>the wheel to its limits. Refilling the ATF can be a pain if the system
>got low enough to collect air bubbles. Make sure tha car is level and
>cold when you check the level.

The ATF reservoir is at the correct level. Interestingly, the
driver's handbook doesn't even identify it. As you say, the ATF fluid
is a dull red color, and is not what was on the floor.

I think this will have to remain a mystery for now. I suppose it's
possible I could have driven through a puddle of something strange
that later dripped off onto the garage floor. A perfectly clean,
colorless oil, whatever the hell that could be...

Thanks for all the suggestions.
--
Dean Dark

Maybe you gave the car a really good "ride" and it's just, uhm,.......fully
satisfied?