So, I open up my hood the day after washing my car, only to find this brown-looking gunk all around the bottom of the engine. I thought it could have been the CV Joints, but they seemed fine. Anyone have an idea what it could be from?

Here are some pics I took from under the car. 1999 9-3 SE 2.0 Turbo.

(Sorry for the bad quality; It was on my phone-cam. )

Here's the whole album to see more pics: http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a253/Pedrito777/Saab/










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It kind of looks like gear oil, or an oil/water mixture.

You haven't spotted any type of oil leak anywhere have you?

Maybe a coolant leak around the water pump?

 

I think I have miniscule leaks all over the place, but I haven't spotted any leak big enough to cause such a mess. It sort-of "squirted" from somewhere, and sprung from one day to another, as I've only had the car for 3 days, and it wasn't there when I bought it.

And yes, it does seem to be an oil/water mixture. The water probably came from me washing the car, and the oil must have come from inside the car.. although the exact culprit has yet to be revealed. [8D]

 

Wash the engine bay and than check afterwards. To me this looks like bad news, kinda reminds me of what happens when a headgasket blows...when it REALLY blows...

 

[&:]

So you think my headgasket may have... Blown ??

I've driven the car after I saw the leak, which was after I changed the spark plugs, and it's driving better then before.. Tomorrow I'm changing the oil.

Keep in mind, the water most likely came from the carwash, and it also rained afterwards. It's just the oil.. I don't know where it could be coming from.

 

That's what I was thinking too. It has that chocolate milk color of a water oil mix. It's just the size of the mess, I've never had a gasket blow that made that big of a mess, not yet anyway.

 

But I've been able to drive the car, even better than when I first bought it..

Which was 3 days ago, and it didn't have any sign of a mess, or any leak even comparable in size to what may have caused this.

It's acceleratiing well, sounds fine, and runs pretty well. Apart from the engine mounts which I know need to be changed out, I don't know what can be causing this, that isn't affecting the way the car drives.

 

Wash the engine bay. Degrease it well, than you'll see where it's coming from. I seriously hope that it's just a valvecover gasket that went drym but I have never seen such a mess without serious reasons for it.

 

Judging from the color, and not being able to "feel" the gunk, it seems to be a MIXED oil/water, little water lots ofoil, mix wise. Something is mixing or churning to get that color. With out knowing your car (I drive 900's) is yours a turbo? watercooled? Follow the other folks advice and thoroughly clean the engine bay. If you have the luxury of a little time for troubleshooting, line the non moving parts under the belts with white paper towels or rags (remember to keep things away from moving parts and exhaust manifolds), and let it run for a short while. Also if you can manage it around the CV joints. That should help isolate the leakage area. Was there any evidence on the hood? That would pinpoint it to things that rotate. Can't help you much past that, but good luck and hope for the best.

 

actually I remember now that once I got that stuff when I lost my oil cap and had to drive like that for 50 miles (not on a sab thoigh)....but I'm sure it's not the case here