Technical Unknown Leak Uno Mambo IE - Help needed

[SilentPartner]

I can't work out what it is - It doesnt smell like petrol, but it doesn't look like oil. Its coming from the front end same side as the battery. Im rather confused, it only just started yesterday. The car's performance isn't affected but I dont like driving it until it's been fixed. Any help at all would be welcomed, are there any common faults in an uno which could be the cause? Thanks alot!

 

[Louie Bee]

Hi and welcome to FF .

Has the clutch fluid level dropped? - Presuming you have a hydraulic clutch

How old is you’re Uno? Tell us more about the Uno here https://www.fiatforum.com/showthread.php?t=33688 .

 

[SuperUno]

Sounds liek it is could either be coolant or battery acid leaking, check these two levels.

Cheers

Matt

 

[SilentPartner]

Yeah it is hydraulic. The clutch fluid level doesnt seem to have dropped, neither does the brake fluid. I don't think it's coolant or battery acid. My instinct is telling me that it's oil but I can't work out where its coming from. It seems to be in quite a few places, including on the exhaust just under the engine.

 

[sumplug]

Yeah it is hydraulic. The clutch fluid level doesnt seem to have dropped, neither does the brake fluid. I don't think it's coolant or battery acid. My instinct is telling me that it's oil but I can't work out where its coming from. It seems to be in quite a few places, including on the exhaust just under the engine.

are there any leak marks under the clutch hydraulic slave cylinder[gearbox] ? if so, its coming form there. new slave cylinder required. if its coolant, it will smell sweet.

 

[Louie Bee]

What colour is it

If it's oil, it could be the all to common cam cover gasket, or distributor O-ring leak.

 

[SilentPartner]

Right.
It started out as a big puddle with lots of pretty colours in it ( big because it had been raining im guessing) but now cos the drive is dry theres just little droplets of clear fluid, quite thick too, which im thinking is oil. I think I might have more than one leak, im not too sure I spent most of today underneath it but im stumped. I put a tray under the drivers side and its got little splotches in it, quite close to the front. The trouble is the oil is kindof everywhere underneath the engine - on the exhaust, the wheel strut thingy (I don't know the tech words lol) and in various other places. Anyone got any pictures? They could show me where it might be coming from. Cheers guys, you're legends..:worship:

 

[jjhepburn]

Could be gearbox oil, check the drive shaft seals (big rubber things on either side of the back of the gearbox with driveshafts coming out of them). They sometimes split and let out the oil which is generally clear. This is the most common cause of gearbox leaks.

Depending on what type of gearbox it is, checking the level is a bit of a job. You need to undo the filler plug (which should be about halfway up the front of the gearbox and is probably a 12mm allen key plug). The oil level should be up to just below this plug.

You can top it up with, preferably, the proper gearbox oil from FIAT or we sometimes us Castrol VMX or similar. The seals are generally cheap to buy but can be tricky to install since you need to remove the driveshaft from the gearbox (generally means removed the driveshaft from the car) take the tripod joint off the end of it, swap seals, put tripod back on, and reinstall into the car.