One reason why you have a rainbow under the hood of your automobile is so that you can tell what’s leaking if you end up with a leak, which we here at Texan Auto Repair & Collision hope never happens. Let’s talk about the different colors of automotive fluids. This is good knowledge to have in case you need it.
Blues/Greens
Depending on your engine coolant, you may have only one automotive fluid that is blue or you may have blue, green, or bluish-green coolant. The blue automotive fluid is your windshield washer. Engine coolant can be any of the other colors just mentioned.
Browns
Browns are brake fluid, gear oil, motor oil, and dirty transmission fluid. If any of these fluids are dark brown, they need to be changed right away. Your brake fluid, gear oil, and motor oil should all be light brown, even amber, when brand new.
Oranges
Engine coolant can be orange, but that’s usually because your radiator has rust in it and the corrosion has eaten a hole through the bottom of it. If your transmission fluid is being diluted, it, too, might be orange, but it will more likely be pink.
Pinks/Reds
Let’s talk about this further. Pink transmission fluid is a mixture of transmission fluid and engine coolant, and this is very damaging to your transmission. Normal transmission fluid is red, as is your power steering fluid. Coolant can also be red.
Yellows
Another color engine coolant can be is yellow. As you can see, engine coolant comes in a wide variety of colors, so the best way to tell what your engine coolant looks like is to look at it. Raise your hood and check the clear radiator reservoir. You’ll see the color there.
No Color
Finally, no color is water. Your vehicle’s engine produces condensation, especially when the air conditioning is on. You might see spots on your garage floor in the summer after you’ve turned off your air conditioner, or you may see spots behind your tailpipe. This is usually just water and is nothing to worry about.
Texan Auto Repair & Collision in Sugar Land, TX, would be happy to find the source of your automotive fluid leak and fix it. In most cases, it’s dangerous to continue to drive your automobile with a fluid leak because this reduces the fluid levels and can damage your engine. Give us a call today to schedule an appointment. We’ll stop the fluid from leaking out of your automobile.
