Oil leak after driving through flood water

[ballpoint]

My daughter called me to say that she had to drive her small front wheel drive car along some flooded roads in town the other day.  She said it was for a few hundred metres and the water was about half way up the wheels. Everything seemed okay, but this morning there was a pool of thick brown "hydraulic" oil, not engine oil, as she described it, below the engine bay, and more was dripping out quite fast.  She doesn't want to drive the car to a mechanic in case of further damage, and wants me to look at it (more likely, pay for it) before doing anything, but is up country and I can't go and take a look for myself for another week.  By the way she described the oil, it sounds like diff fluid, but I'm not sure why floodwater would cause it to be okay while driving home and parked for a day, and then suddenly start leaking like she says it is.  Unless she hit something on the underside, which she says she didn't.  Has anyone got any ideas as to what it could be, so I have some forewarning of just how bad things are?  Thanks in advance.

[Bung]

Hard to say,  could be a few things.  Ask her to have a good look with a flashlight to try and find the source.  It could be a stick or something floating came off the fan and broke a power steering hose or she hit something,  maybe shy to admit that.  Obviously the car shouldn't be driven. Maybe a local mechanic can look and she can translate to you.  Sounds like it needs to be transported to a dealer as the best bet

[ballpoint]

Thanks for the reply Bung. Yes, I'll ask her to get a quote to have it taken to the dealer, which is about 50km away, and see what that'll cost.  I suppose I don't want to have that done only for the dealer to plug in a loose hose, top up the fluid and away she goes again though.

 

Cheers. 

[ballpoint]

9 hours ago, transam said:

Could have split a gaiter on steering rack or drive shaft. Does sound like she hit something submerged.

Thanks.  I prefer the broken hose theory though, it sounds cheaper.  I thought maybe someone might have seen similar and said something along the lines of "obviously, water's got into the winkle valve and expanded in the choxham chamber, causing the fliggle flange to burst".  Guess I'll find out soon enough.

[ClutchClark]

Good for her to have spotted the puddle before she just hopped in and drove off.

[Gary A]

It's doubtful that driving through high water would cause an oil leak. What is likely is that water may have entered through a breather causing the leaking  component to be overfilled. The leaking component should have the lubricant changed. 

[Kwasaki]

"obviously, water's got into the winkle valve and expanded in the choxham chamber, causing the fliggle flange to burst". 

 

Yeah well that a new one    does your daughter have class 1 insurance if so it can be transported to a repair shop with just phone call.

[manfredtillmann]

suggest she does not 'drive' the car anywhere!

no matter where the fluid came from, it would have been essential for the vehicles operation - otherwise it would not have been there in the first place.

get the car 'tilt - trayed' to the nearest authorised service agent.

 

[Lancashirelad]

Any update?