My 2010 Fiat 500C has been periodically leaking an oily, greyish fluid. It started out a month or two ago, went away, and now seems to be back with a vengeance.

I fired it up this evening for a short run and it spat out a large amount of fluid as I started it. It left a trail of drips down the driveway and the same on the street as I took off.

It seems to burp it out as I start the car but clear up after. The dipstick shows no sign of oil loss (it's a different colour, anyway). My regular mechanic had a look underneath while we had another car in for servicing last week and could not find any sign of a leak.

I'm concerned it could be transmission fluid. Has anyone else had a similar problem or know what it might be?

cjmb said:

My 2010 Fiat 500C has been periodically leaking an oily, greyish fluid. It started out a month or two ago, went away, and now seems to be back with a vengeance.

I fired it up this evening for a short run and it spat out a large amount of fluid as I started it. It left a trail of drips down the driveway and the same on the street as I took off.

It seems to burp it out as I start the car but clear up after. The dipstick shows no sign of oil loss (it's a different colour, anyway). My regular mechanic had a look underneath while we had another car in for servicing last week and could not find any sign of a leak.

I'm concerned it could be transmission fluid. Has anyone else had a similar problem or know what it might be?

Click to expand...

Hi.
Does it drip on the floor when parked..or just leave a trail once moving..


Colour is likely to mean its miked oil and water..

So from aircon..or dripped from exhaust silencer..

If you let us know more about your car.

Its a 500 with a fabric roof.

But diesel..amd automatic??

Charlie

varesecrazy said:

Hi.
Does it drip on the floor when parked..or just leave a trail once moving..


Colour is likely to mean its miked oil and water..

So from aircon..or dripped from exhaust silencer..

If you let us know more about your car.

Its a 500 with a fabric roof.

But diesel..amd automatic??

Charlie

Click to expand...

It doesn't drip when parked. It only drips on start up.

It's unleaded, auto, 2010, 500C Lounge.

Where does it drip from?
Water build up in exhaust/carbon? Has it had a replacement exhaust without the small hole drilled in the back box and it's collecting more due to the colder weather?
If you remove the oil filler cap is it normal looking ie just oily?

If it’s coming out of the exhaust then it can only be either oil or water.

If your oil level isn’t falling then it’s not oil. If your coolant level is stable and the underneath of the oil cap is oily rather than looking like mayonnaise then you don’t have head gasket/coolant loss problem, so the liquid can only be condensation.

If it only does it in the morning or after a short run and stops doing it when the exhaust is hot after a long run then that proves it. Longer runs will cure the dripping .. but if your silencer doesn’t have a small drain hole in the bottom then it may be worth drilling one, if your usage makes the exhaust sweaty.


Ralf S.

Ralf S. said:

If it’s coming out of the exhaust then it can only be either oil or water.

If your oil level isn’t falling then it’s not oil. If your coolant level is stable and the underneath of the oil cap is oily rather than looking like mayonnaise then you don’t have head gasket/coolant loss problem, so the liquid can only be condensation.

If it only does it in the morning or after a short run and stops doing it when the exhaust is hot after a long run then that proves it. Longer runs will cure the dripping .. but if your silencer doesn’t have a small drain hole in the bottom then it may be worth drilling one, if your usage makes the exhaust sweaty.


Ralf S.

Click to expand...

It isn't coming from the exhaust. It's appears to be coming from somewhere under the bonnet.

I should stress that it happens when I start the car, as opposed to after driving it. It tends to get light to variable use because I don't drive to work. It tends to burp, for want of a better word, a large amount as I start the car and then drip for a while before stopping. I can only assume that because it coincides with starting the car, there's some kind of pressure that spits it out.

Is there any way to check the transmission fluid? I can't find any obvious place to get to it.

The transmission fluid is oil, so you wouldn’t describe it as greyish or watery. It also has a pungent smell like smokey bacon so you can differentiate it from normal engine oil.

To answer the question anyway, to check the level you undo the filler screw on the front of the gearbox and fill it until the oil starts to dribble out of the filler hole. Then it’s at the correct level.

Your mysterious fluid still sounds like condensation though. Do you always have the air conditioner running? The condenser drain pipe might be partially blocked and starting the engine might blow out condensation that normally drains away in use/more invisibly. It could be collecting instead, if there’s dirt or gunge in the pipes. The condenser is at the front of the engine.

Similarly if there is condensation in the exhaust, it might be collecting and then getting blown out at the catalyst/flex if the exhaust has a leak in it... but this is less likely since a loose or blowing exhaust this end of the exhaust is quite noisy.

There’s nothing else I can think of.. but the “good news” as my dad used to say, is once it’s all leaked out of whatever component it’s in, the component will seize up and then you’ll know where the fluid was coming from..


Ralf S.

If you can have some else either look or start the car whilst looking under the bonnet to try and locate ?

Ralf S. said:

The transmission fluid is oil, so you wouldn’t describe it as greyish or watery. It also has a pungent smell like smokey bacon so you can differentiate it from normal engine oil.

To answer the question anyway, to check the level you undo the filler screw on the front of the gearbox and fill it until the oil starts to dribble out .


Ralf S.

Click to expand...

They have a semi.auto

So..
Gearoil
And dualogic fluid.

Personally..
I doubt it is either of these..

Best bet..

Get a sheet of cardboard.

Trim it so it fits well..if slid along the ground from the front bumper..
And the tyres stop it going tight under.

Start the car a few times.

Them withdraw the card.

The location of the drips will be pretty accurate.

Seeing where the drips have actually run from may be diffrent.

The front joint of exhaust is my No.1 suspect

Fairly central..when you check the drips..

Charlie

varesecrazy said:

They have a semi.auto

So..
Gearoil
And dualogic fluid.

Personally..
I doubt it is either of these..

Best bet..

Get a sheet of cardboard.

Trim it so it fits well..if slid along the ground from the front bumper..
And the tyres stop it going tight under.

Start the car a few times.

Them withdraw the card.

The location of the drips will be pretty accurate.

Seeing where the drips have actually run from may be diffrent.

The front joint of exhaust is my No.1 suspect

Fairly central..when you check the drips..

Charlie

Click to expand...

I stuck a piece under and started but no luck. It doesn’t happen all the time. But I found this reservoir which appears to be the culprit. It’s a bit wet underneath and has the same smell as what I find on the driveway.

Does anyone know what it is?

cjmb said:

I stuck a piece under and started but no luck. It doesn’t happen all the time. But I found this reservoir which appears to be the culprit. It’s a bit wet underneath and has the same smell as what I find on the driveway.

Does anyone know what it is?

Click to expand...

Probably the 'selespeed fluid'
For the gearchange pump system.
( not sure I would call it GREY..though..
On the panda it looked clear:yellowish)

You might want to read this thread.

Getting these transmissions repaired in Australia would appear to be even more problematic than in the rest of the world. If it's confirmed as a selespeed fault, I'd give serious consideration to selling the car "as is".