Erm..what's this pipe and what's the goup leaking out?

[nero279]

I'm no expert on these things and hadn't even thought it could be somethin else, but when i removed my aircon, all that came out was an oily liquid, and a gas/vapour that just dispersed.

[NiftyNev]

If it is the battery, which I had a quick look at before she left and couldn't see any obvious signs of leakage, where do they normally leak from?

They can leak if overfilled or what I think has happened in your case, is the case has cracked somewhere around the sides or the bottom. Pull the battery out and take a look.

Nev

[Vagrant No2]

The second picture looks more like dried antifreeze/coolant in my opinion . Check the coolant hoses to the turbo and surrounding area . Dried coolant can look like battery acid .

[cataclysm]

The three major parts in that area are Air-Con, Power Steering and the battery.
I think the gunk you've got there would have killed your air-con, probably in a noisy way.

Things to check:
- Battery fluid level
- Powersteering (for slop and noise)
- Coolant level

One should be quite wrong. The battery would have to be badly damaged to cause this soiling, so wear gloves and be careful! (also have a bucket of water handy).

[Tonka]

OK, I'm beginning to think that I may have a number of problems, not just one

Just checked the levels and the power steering reservoir was basically empty. So, even if it's not power steering fluid I can see, I have a problem there somewhere. I'm going to get my Haynes manual out to have a look at where there are joins in the power steering system, but if anyone knows where it would be likely to be leaking please let me know. I'm thinking that the prang I had on this corner has caused something to give which wasn't detected until now.

Is there any way the leak could be having a knock on effect to create the slow turning over of the starter, could it have got onto an earth connection somewhere? I can see that the drivers side battery is earthed to the body just above the battery, but is there a connection down below somewhere which might have got affected by this leak?

Again many thanks.

[nero279]

if that corners been pranged i would definately say a crack in the battery case would be the most likely suspect.

[Tonka]

if that corners been pranged i would definately say a crack in the battery case would be the most likely suspect.

The repair took some while which meant that the batteries ran down and ended up getting replaced, so they are only 6 months old. I will be taking the drivers side one out and checking it anyway, although I did check the levels in the battery and they seemed OK.

[Tonka]

Well, I've taken the battery out and can't see any damage to it, although one of the cells seems a bit low on liquid......

[cataclysm]

Cold weather, dirty or dry contacts, low fluid levels, bad chemistry... Batteries are buggers. Put a few conditioning tabs in there and forget them until your headlights start to go dim!

If it was a major prang, I'd get it looked at if you can find a friendly Toyota garage.

Loosing power-steering fluid can be dangerous in a two-tonne truck.
It could be something as simple as a knackered seal or a pin-hole.

[andycook]

maybe battery acid has leaked, then attacked the power-steering unit seals? causing that to leak powersteering fluid at the steering unit?