Spraying Brown Liquid? Eww...

[AdamsGuitar]

Today I was swiss cheesing my airbox when I discovered my cordless drill was dead, so I decided to move to the garage and use my corded drill. Instead of reassembling the airbox/filter, I decided to push it the ~15-20 feet from where I was to the garage. I placed it in neutral, pushed it straight back, stopped, then turned as I pushed, ending up turning 90 degrees. When I walked to the front, there was a brown liquid that looked like either power steering fluid or brake fluid that had been sprayed from what looks like the center of the engine compartment (or toward the driver's side from the center) outward, landing on the fusebox, battery, driver's side front fender, throttle cable cover, etc. My coolant is a nice green, so that isn't it, and tranny fluid is pink, so that isn't it. I did notice, however, that there is a small pool of power steering fluid inside the recessed top of the power steering fluid cap, and it is very full (though I actually haven't touched the fluid since I bought the truck in late summer).

I also noticed that on my master cyl., the four piston-looking bolt/things on the side toward the fender are "depressed" at different depths, with one of them almost all the way in. Is this normal?

Given this info, I decided to wipe her off and take her for a quick drive around the block and experienced nothing out of the ordinary. I accelerated to 25 then hit the brakes and felt the abs work and stopped quite quickly with no pull in either direction. I went around the block, including braking/turning in forward and reverse, then pulled back into the driveway to check. No new fluid had been sprayed and everything looked just as it had when I left. Anyone have any ideas as to what this could be/mean?

Also, incidently, I had my new catback exhaust installed today! Magnaflow muffler, only took 1.5hr and only $175 total!

 

[Alec]

It's most likely power steering fluid. The power steering system on Fords tend to leak when used with the truck off. This is normal. However, if the fluid is brown then I recommend it changed. I believe it should be red.

 

[dejello]

I had to push my truck out of a parking place because my battery was dead (jumper cables weren't long enough).. I had to turn it and when I got done I noticed a trail of power steering fluid... But it's all still working just fine...

So as Alec said..

 

[Alec]

Oh, and congrats on your Magnaflow; I doubt you'll be disappointed....

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by Alec
. I believe it should be red.

Depends on the type; some are clear.

 

[AdamsGuitar]

Thanks for the help, everyone!

Yes, I believe it is power steering fluid. It's a brownish red, so I guess it is time for a flush. The guy I bought the truck from wasn't exactly a person who was religious about maintenance. He never hand washed the truck, not ONCE, and he left things such as used cigars and coke spills in the truck.

As for the exhaust, I am most certainly not disappointed. It seems just right; anything louder would be obnoxious, but it is a very throaty growl while not being too intrusive into the cab; you can definitely tell it's there.

I just finished swiss cheesing my airbox, and with the combination of these two, all I can say is WOW. It might be all in my head, but my truck does seem a LOT faster on acceleration than it had before, especially at highway speeds, and I still will be getting a 66mm BBK tb and I'm in on the group buy for the apten chip, so I'm psyched for what is to come.

 

[jimbo74]

it is ps fluid... if you want to see something cool, you can leave the hood open in the garage and turn the wheel.... it spurts out the little hole in the top of the reservoirs cap..... my roof still has ps fluid spots on it... it is cool to watch , but a pain to clean up