A fluid is leaking...but don't know from where.

[the young explorer]

Hello guys. I'm kind of new to Ford gears and parts. I was washing the car the other day and saw a leak coming from near the oil filter I guess. But I'm not quite sure where is it coming from. Can you share your opinions? I attached some photos. Thanks

 

[peterk9]

Difficult to tell from the pictures but what colour does it appear to be? It is oily or more watery? I'm just hoping it's not from the water pump weephole.

Peter

 

[the young explorer]

Difficult to tell from the pictures but what colour does it appear to be? It is oily or more watery? I'm just hoping it's not from the water pump weephole.

Peter

I didn't touch it but it looks like a brown fluid coming out from that tube where the bolt is right?

 

[mguy13sport]

That most certainly looks like its orange coolant dripping down from the weep hole. It will look dirty orange by the time it drips onto the AC compressor.

Check the dipstick and make sure its at the proper level.

Check coolant reservoir to see if its lost any coolant. If it doesn't look low then this leak is probably new/slow.

You can pressurize the coolant system to confirm the leak but I can pretty much guarantee that is the internal water pump leaking.

 

[the young explorer]

I didn't touch it but it looks like a brown fluid coming out from that tube where the bolt is right?

Ok so an update on this. I wiped it out and it has the same color as the coolant. A yellow-brownish liquid, not so oily as I thought but more of a soapy liquid. Also I opened the hood and look from above and there's no splashes or leaks on the side of the engine, which is I think where the waterpump is located. It's all seem to be coming out from this part circled in the photo.

That most certainly looks like its orange coolant dripping down from the weep hole. It will look dirty orange by the time it drips onto the AC compressor.

Check the dipstick and make sure its at the proper level.

Check coolant reservoir to see if its lost any coolant. If it doesn't look low then this leak is probably new/slow.

You can pressurize the coolant system to confirm the leak but I can pretty much guarantee that is the internal water pump leaking.

Ok, but does that mean something bad?

 

[mguy13sport]

It is bad. The vehicle shouldn't even be driven. The water pump is internal and will dump coolant into the oil if its leaking. Thats why you want to check the oil now to see if it may already have coolant in it.

This is a well documented issue with the 5th gen explorer.

 

[Odrapnew]

That is coolant and there is chance it's just leaking through the weep hole and not into engine.
However, as mguy13sport mentioned, if it is leaking into the engine, there is risk that it could be damaged.

You could check the dip stick and see if the oil is milky, or drain some of the oil from the pan and see what it looks like, but it best to not start the engine until the water pump is replaced.

 

[peterk9]

Ok so an update on this. I wiped it out and it has the same color as the coolant. A yellow-brownish liquid, not so oily as I thought but more of a soapy liquid. Also I opened the hood and look from above and there's no splashes or leaks on the side of the engine, which is I think where the waterpump is located. It's all seem to be coming out from this part circled in the photo.

Ok, but does that mean something bad?

Water pump failure leads to dead engine

I hate being the guy that joins only to have his first post be about needing help, but I’ve been lurking here for the better part of a year and now have a depressing reason to reach out for assistance. This is long, so the summary is 1k miles over warranty, water pump failed without any check...

www.explorerforum.com

Peter