my new 328 has a cold!

ok..so clearly she didn’t like her temporary quarters in an unheated garage...came out and found hydraulic fluid on the concrete floor under the spare tire area AND forward of the oil pan halfway between the rear tires. seems unlikely she would spring two separate hydraulic fluid leaks..the one up front was only a few drops. the one in the rear was like the size of pancake..thoughts?

 

There is only one hydraulic fluid in the 328 and it's brake fluid. You have a leaky system. Take care of that immediately.

 

It might be leaking in one place and running both ways

 

Morning Albert,
Mike is probably right, take look at the master cylinder. By what you're saying it may be coming from there and there is a tunnel that goes to the rear(containing the coolant pipes). If brake fluid gets in this tunnel, it could easily travel towards the rear of the car giving the impression you have another leak.

Good luck!

John.

 

Also likely that the unheated storage has a rodent or two who were curious about the new horse in the stall.

 

By the way, what model year is this 328. The brake system changes drastically at the end of the model years.

 

it’s a very late 89...so yes, ABS. oddly, it stopped leaking when i transferred it to heated storage...i’m thinking worn seal or loose fitting that leaked in the -5 degree temps.

 

I am thinking loose clamp on a coolant hose.

The coolant I use looks and feels just like brake fluid.

 

Yeah, the first thing to do is be certain what kind of fluid it actually is! Coolant leaking is far more likely than brake fluid. Rubber hoses/hose clamps in the cooling system can loosen/lose their seal with low temps. There are no rubber hoses/hose clamps in the hydraulic system.

In the marine world, one of the typical things to do after the winter is to check/tighten hose clamps. It is amazing sometimes how loose a formerly tight hose clamp can be...

 

I'm going with a coolant hose leaking at the junction under the spare, and traveling down the outside of the pipe towards the back of the car.

 

so..i took a couple of big floor pans and lined them with paper towels. i took a sample of antifreeze, engine oil, and brake fluid from that car and made reference spots on the paper towel edge. keep in mind thdt the car is now in heated storage...it was brake fluid by the way. almost straw colored.
After 72 hours...nothing..not one single drip of any fluid on the paper towels whatsoever. i think this car just never wants to be anywhere near zero degrees. i will torque everything once the lift arrives just to me save bit for now i’m calling this “cold induced stress incontinence”

 

Your car should not leak anything because it's cold. You have a problem, Find it and fix it, especially if it brake fluid. Otherwise, you may end up like

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it does concern me..i just don’t know what else i could do but tighten everything to spec and get it in the cold weather again to try to induce a leak. if it does, then start replacing the seals as i’d expect they are all the same age and same relative state of wear?

 

If it is brake fluid, most likely place for a leak is in the power brake booster. Do the brakes work correctly/pedal feel OK?

 

they do! they feel really good...and as i understand it, the clutch uses the same reservoir. as to the brakes, they stay firm for an extended push and hold. clutch feels great. even takes second gear dead cold with no complaints other then the expected stiffness.

 

i slipped some paper towel around and under the reservoir as i thought it might be a fitting down there..it was bone dry ‍♂️

 

Oil from AC compressor? Just throwing it out there. Been reading Martin’s thread about his leaking compressor.

 

oil from A/C?? hmm..hadn’t thought about that...she’s still on R12 by the way
any way i can test? what dripped was slick and thin. no smell i could detect

 

Was that because of brake failure?

 

?? Just a picture off the web. Would hate the see Albert's car end up that way because of an over looked brake problem. For me there are two things I worry about more than anything else; stopping and steering. Everything else is optional.