Truck Leaking Green Liquid - Not Anitfreeze??

[crashz]

I think I cursed my 2004 GMC 1/2ton. I've been bragging about having 149K miles on it with little to no trouble.

Now its leaking a slight amount of flourescent green liquid from the front, approximately around the radiator. I also saw a spot of orange in the snow too. A color run down of the fluids (type/brand):

Coolant - Orange (Dexcool)
Gear oil - Brown (Valvoline Syn in both boxes)
Engine oil - Brown (Motorcraft 5w-30)
Power steering fluid - Brown (Prestone)
ATF - Red (Napa Dextron III)
Transfercase lube - Blue (Autotrac II)

The orange spot, probably coolant from either the overflow, a hose, intake gaskets or the water pump. I'll narrow it down and repair tomorrow hopefully.

The green is a total mystery. I've only seen a few little spots (like the equivalent of three or four drips) twice. The first time I totally disregarded it as it was on the street and I have no green liquid on board, or so I thought. Yesterday, it was in my driveway, in the snow. The entire truck was wet from the snow and water on the roads (I drove it), so I could not see where its coming from.

Could it be air conditioning oil? Wouldn't I have reduced performance, a loud pump (it runs when defrost is selected) and a troublecode or message (like low pressure, as they all have low pressure switches)?

Am I overlooking something? Maybe alien blood?

 

[MMagis]

A/C would be a good guess. I doubt a just a small leak would cause any noticeably problems (message or excessive noise) at first.

 

[Diamondpilot]

AC oil is a good guess but it could also be some liquid salt they spray on the roads? Also, what color is your WWF? I have seen green but 99% of what I see is blue.

The big problem I see here is you run Ford Motorcraft Engine Oil in a GM. Best thing to ever happen to that truck.:laughing::laughing::laughing: Kind of like kissing your sister though.

Just had to poke fun. All in good humor.

Chris

 

[chipsndust]

Any chance the green stuff is from another vehicle?

Someone else parking in your spot when you're not around?

 

[dodge man]

Some washer fluid is green, like DP said.

 

[TRR]

Could it be copper corrosion washing off the radiator?

 

[crashz]

I forgot to add the windshield washer - its just the standard blue stuff.

That Motorcraft oil is good stuff. The testing info on BITOG is shows that its got better wear numbers than most oils, and its pretty cheap comparitively. Maybe the truck is puking it up in protest though? I know it's a little mad at me anyway. I was looking at new F350's online last night!!!

No chance it was another vehicle. Spot was on freshly drifted snow covered gravel below the truck. It must have leaked while warming it up.

Snowmelt chemical is not probable, but possible I guess. It looked very fresh though and thats why I beleive it leaked while warming up.

The green tint is very strong and very flourescent, so I doubt its copper corrosion. plus its a 2004 so there is as little copper in it as possible. Radiator is aluminum.

The guys at my local NAPA agree that its probably A/C fluid. They seem to think that it will not trip a code or send a message though. It will just not run the A/C compressor.

 

[Diamondpilot]

That Motorcraft oil is good stuff. The testing info on BITOG is shows that its got better wear numbers than most oils, and its pretty cheap comparitively. Maybe the truck is puking it up in protest though? I know it's a little mad at me anyway. I was looking at new F350's online last night!!!

Smart truck.:thumbsup::laughing:

I like the Motorcraft oil also... Very good price on it at WalMart. You can usually get the Semi Synthetic cheaper than name brand dino oils.

Chris

 

[deerefan]

I forgot to add the windshield washer - its just the standard blue stuff.

That Motorcraft oil is good stuff. The testing info on BITOG is shows that its got better wear numbers than most oils, and its pretty cheap comparitively. Maybe the truck is puking it up in protest though? I know it's a little mad at me anyway. I was looking at new F350's online last night!!!

No chance it was another vehicle. Spot was on freshly drifted snow covered gravel below the truck. It must have leaked while warming it up.

Snowmelt chemical is not probable, but possible I guess. It looked very fresh though and thats why I beleive it leaked while warming up.

The green tint is very strong and very flourescent, so I doubt its copper corrosion. plus its a 2004 so there is as little copper in it as possible. Radiator is aluminum.

The guys at my local NAPA agree that its probably A/C fluid. They seem to think that it will not trip a code or send a message though. It will just not run the A/C compressor.

My 97 F150 did the same thing, it was coming from the a/c. I never got it repaired. I top off the freon every spring and it does fine until the next spring.

 

[dodge man]

When I had the A.C. repaired on a vehicle, they put a dye in it to look for leaks. It was meant to be viewed with a black light, but I bet it was green in color. I think from the factory, they don't have color in the A.C. system, but I'm not sure.