Home » How Bad Does A Leak Have To Be Before You’ll Fix It? Autopian Asks
- ByLewin Day
- June 4, 2024
- 11:40 am
- 68 Comments
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Some car enthusiasts are fastidious about maintenance. If a door handle is squeaking, they’ll be right on the job, repairing it. Some are happier to let the small stuff slide, while others will let their cars fall to pieces before their very eyes. In that regard, I ask you a question. How bad does a leak have to be before you’ll consider fixing it?
Obviously, this is something that can change greatly depending on the fluid involved. If your vehicle is leaking gas, like Gossin’s pickup, you might want to fix that immediately. Similarly, a loss of brake fluid might spur you to immediate action. But not all leaks are so disastrous. A slow oil leak can weep for months or years without causing too much trouble. Similarly, losing a little coolant here and there might not require you to immediately throw the car on jack stands to perform restorative repairs.
I myself land on the lazier side when it comes to leaks, but I do so in an educated fashion. If my car is losing coolant at a rapid rate, where I’m routinely seeing ounces of fluid on the driveway, I’ll probably get to it on the next free weekend I have. If it’s losing quarts, I’m probably not driving it anywhere unless Ireally need some KFC.
![How Bad Does A Leak Have To Be Before You'll Fix It? Autopian Asks - The Autopian (4) How Bad Does A Leak Have To Be Before You'll Fix It? Autopian Asks - The Autopian (4)](https://i0.wp.com/images-stag.jazelc.com/uploads/theautopian-m2en/PXL_20220902_053454830-1-scaled.jpg)
Oil, I’m even more lackadaisical about. But that’s for good reason—for oil leaks are often quite slow. I’ve had a ton of cars that burn a little oil, or leak some out of the valve cover seals. This is rarely a big problem. I’ll just top up the oil with a half-a-quart or so every three months, and the car will run just fine. Sure, I could pull the intakes off and all the wiring and spark plug leads and spend hundreds of dollars on new seals, but… why? I rarely have any free time as it is. I’d rather spend $20 on a liter of oil a few times a year and enjoy driving instead of tedious wrenching jobs with little benefit. Plus, the driveway stains come up easy with some dishwashing liquid.
This topic comes to mind because of my beloved Audi TT. It’s currently leaking power steering fluid, and doing so at a frustrating rate. It’s only losing maybe a shot glass or two a month. However, that’s enough to drop it below minimum on the dipstick, and it gets the power steering pump whining like a city bus in cold weather. I don’t want to spend big money on replacing the pump, so I’m trying to keep it topped up.
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![How Bad Does A Leak Have To Be Before You'll Fix It? Autopian Asks - The Autopian (5) How Bad Does A Leak Have To Be Before You'll Fix It? Autopian Asks - The Autopian (5)](https://i0.wp.com/images-stag.jazelc.com/uploads/theautopian-m2en/20240526_135751-scaled.jpg)
The problem I have is that this is likely not an easy fix. Maybe I’m lucky and it’s just a weeping fitting or hose. But more likely it’s a rack seal that’s gone, or even fatal wear to the rack itself. That’s big money and big labor, because it’s a job I don’t have space to tackle myself.
So basically, I’m getting by with occasional top-ups once again, even on my dream car. But what say you—how bad does a leak have to get before you’ll fix it?
Image credits: Lewin Day
- aa, Autopian Asks, coolant, Leak, oil
A madcap engineer who loves a good montage. Ex-auto industry, ex-agriculture. Currently following a dream to write about cars, while writing killer dance music and building robots on the side.Twitter: @rainbowdefaultYouTube: What Up TK Here
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Mechjaz
1 hour ago
> It’s only losing maybe a shot glass or two a month
I think my tequila might be your power steering fluid reservoir. My whiskey fluid reservoir leaks considerably faster.
Rob Bannister
1 hour ago
Just about to scrap my wife’s mini due to oil leaks. It was looking pretty wet in the engine bay and I couldn’t be arsed to fix it as I really hate working on German cars. Sent it to a local indy and was told at least 5 big leaks and valve guides to stop the blue smoke. Not worth fixing. I begged her not to buy another mini but we want what we want. Open to offers if anyone’s in the Sheffield area and want a reasonable interior. My spitfire get to leak all day long without a worry in the world, just top it up when it get squeaky.
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