Brake or Aircon fliud leak by rear wheel?

[KGCali]

Hi I noticed some spots of oil/brake fluid on my drive just in front of the rear offside wheel and looks like there is a wet silver pipe that's dripping on the suspension arm as in the pictures, any idea what this pipe is or where else it could come from above that point?
2010 SE 4Motion 97k T5.1
Funny thing is I just drove back from a VW 30 inspection with video and they never even spotted it!

 

[WelshGas]

Hi I noticed some spots of oil/brake fluid on my drive just in front of the rear offside wheel and looks like there is a wet silver pipe that's dripping on the suspension arm as in the pictures, any idea what this pipe is or where else it could come from above that point?
2010 SE 4Motion 97k T5.1
Funny thing is I just drove back from a VW 30 inspection with video and they never even spotted it!

Are you sure it is Brake Fluid?
Do you have Rear Air Con?
If you do then that could be the water from the Rear AirCon Exchanger drain.
When AirCon is On it cools the incoming air and then warms it to the required/set temperature.
During the cooling phase the cool air will be less humid than the air taken in. The difference in water content drains out of the Heat Exchanger .

 

[briwy]

If its not brake fluid (check the reservoir level) possibly an oil leak from the rear diff but difficult to see how it would get there. I'd send the pictures to wherever you had the check and ask for their comments on why it wasn't picked up

 

[KGCali]

Are you sure it is Brake Fluid?
Do you have Rear Air Con?
If you do then that could be the water from the Rear AirCon Exchanger drain.
When AirCon is On it cools the incoming air and then warms it to the required/set temperature.
During the cooling phase the cool air will be less humid than the air taken in. The difference in water content drains out of the Heat Exchanger .

I thought it could be that as I had the aircon recharge last week but the fluid looks clear/slightly yellow, feel slippery and tastes bitter, maybe it's the aircon fluid? Brake fluid is at max but only just started leaking so I'll keep an eye on it. Is the silver pipe aircon or brakes?

 

[WelshGas]

I thought it could be that as I had the aircon recharge last week but the fluid looks clear/slightly yellow, feel slippery and tastes bitter, maybe it's the aircon fluid? Brake fluid is at max but only just started leaking so I'll keep an eye on it. Is the silver pipe aircon or brakes?

It wouldn’t be the AirCon Recharge. It is only liquid under pressure. It would vaporise.

 

[briwy]

I think you need to get it checked out properly, not just keep an eye on it. If it is brake fluid its a safety issue that needs fixing asap.

 

[KGCali]

If its not brake fluid (check the reservoir level) possibly an oil leak from the rear diff but difficult to see how it would get there. I'd send the pictures to wherever you had the check and ask for their comments on why it wasn't picked up

Will do but off to Sussex tomorrow so may have to wait. The area around the wheel axle and diff are dry, it's just wet right at the front of the rear wheel where the arch meets the body and the silver pipe is very wet as in pictures.

 

[KGCali]

Are you sure it is Brake Fluid?
Do you have Rear Air Con?
If you do then that could be the water from the Rear AirCon Exchanger drain.
When AirCon is On it cools the incoming air and then warms it to the required/set temperature.
During the cooling phase the cool air will be less humid than the air taken in. The difference in water content drains out of the Heat Exchanger .

I have rear aircon and that's whereI thought the silver pipe was going up to. I just took another picture and the liquid is green, bitter and slightly slippery, is that brake or aircon fluid?

 

[westfalia]

My guess is coolant fluid.

 

[TripleBee]

Or it might be an aircon leak, and the oil (mixed with fluor) is leaking out? But that is hell of a lot of aircon oil.
It doesn't look like brake fluid, because the brake fluid tube in the first set of pictures is dry.
Maybe they charged the aircon with too much gas and oil?
Take it back to the dealer and tell them what you told here.
If they did a check, they should at least have seen it, and at least mentioned it to you.
Did they recharge the aircon at the same time? Then the leak would only be seen after the check.
Did your airco work good before the recharge, or did you ask for a recharge because of a less cooler working?

 

[KGCali]

Or it might be an aircon leak, and the oil (mixed with fluor) is leaking out? But that is hell of a lot of aircon oil.
It doesn't look like brake fluid, because the brake fluid tube in the first set of pictures is dry.
Maybe they charged the aircon with too much gas and oil?
Take it back to the dealer and tell them what you told here.
If they did a check, they should at least have seen it, and at least mentioned it to you.
Did they recharge the aircon at the same time? Then the leak would only be seen after the check.
Did your airco work good before the recharge, or did you ask for a recharge because of a less cooler working?

The Aircon wasn't very cold when I bought the Cali so I got it recharged at ATS Euro master 3 week ago and all was fine. Maybe they over pressurised the system?

 

[KGCali]

My guess is coolant fluid.

Yes I think so as well. Anyone know a good specialist I could take it to in the South East as I doubt the VW Van centres know much about Aircon in the Cali

 

[WelshGas]

Yes I think so as well. Anyone know a good specialist I could take it to in the South East as I doubt the VW Van centres know much about Aircon in the Cali

The AirCon is recharged with a gas containing a lubricant. The gas is pressurised by the AirCon compressor and it becomes a liquid under pressure Only and a gas at normal air pressure.
Don’t forget you also have pipes containing the same Radiator coolant that circulates around the engine . It provides the heat for the rear system.
It sounds as if this could be a Coolant leak from the pipes running to the rear or the Rear Heat Exchanger.
This is a common system so check the Radiator Expansion tank under the bonnet.

 

[WelshGas]

Yes I think so as well. Anyone know a good specialist I could take it to in the South East as I doubt the VW Van centres know much about Aircon in the Cali

I think you are wrong about the VW Dealerships in this case. The rear AirCon/Heater System is common on the high level Kombi, Shuttle and Caravelle models.

 

[KGCali]

I think you are wrong about the VW Dealerships in this case. The rear AirCon/Heater System is common on the high level Kombi, Shuttle and Caravelle models.

Ok I shall give them a try

 

[KGCali]

The AirCon is recharged with a gas containing a lubricant. The gas is pressurised by the AirCon compressor and it becomes a liquid under pressure Only and a gas at normal air pressure.
Don’t forget you also have pipes containing the same Radiator coolant that circulates around the engine . It provides the heat for the rear system.
It sounds as if this could be a Coolant leak from the pipes running to the rear or the Rear Heat Exchanger.
This is a common system so check the Radiator Expansion tank under the bonnet.

The yellow liquid feels slightly oily so I assume this is from the Aircon as I've never felt that with Radiator Coolant. I'm going to CamperSales in Sussex tomorrow for a gas check and hose change so I'll ask them to take a look and report back.

 

[TripleBee]

Engine coolant is pink.
It used to be green in the 1990's.
This is no engine coolant. This really looks like aircon oil. But I am not sure.

 

[KGCali]

Got the leak sorted, it was a pin hole in the aircon pipe on the bend at the rear wheel arch, VW wanted over £500 plus regas to replace the whole pipe front to back so went to Aircon specialist Bonair in Benfleet, Essex and they replaced a section of the pipe and recharge the system for £330 with 12 months guarantee. All working fine now and would recommend Bonair

 

[westfalia]

Got the leak sorted, it was a pin hole in the aircon pipe on the bend at the rear wheel arch, VW wanted over £500 plus regas to replace the whole pipe front to back so went to Aircon specialist Bonair in Benfleet, Essex and they replaced a section of the pipe and recharge the system for £330 with 12 months guarantee. All working fine now and would recommend Bonair

Any idea as to how it happened?

 

[KGCali]

Any idea as to how it happened?

Not really, the aircon wasn't charged when I got the Cali but the tight bend is very exposed by the rear arch so maybe road salt attacked it over the years?

 

[westfalia]

Not really, the aircon wasn't charged when I got the Cali but the tight bend is very exposed by the rear arch so maybe road salt attacked it over the years?

Its always good to know any possible future problems.

 

[Loz]

Worth adding some protection to that, me thinks...

 

[KGCali]

Worth adding some protection to that, me thinks...

Yes the new pipe is nicely protected ...

 

[Ting Tong]

Thanks @KGCali for posting your solution for us all to learn from and glad you got it fixed. All too often people ask questions on here about problems, then that’s the last you hear.