Help: What is this leak?

[retiring2texas]

I am on the road enroute moving to Texas from Florida.
No manuals with me...

I have a 90 v6 4runner. I bought it new. Then gave it to my Dad in 95 when I went overseas in the military. maybe 45,000 miles on it. Dad was gentle with it. It now has 138000. He passed away just a few months ago so it is mine again. I'd rather have my dad back...

My leak:
Well, in the wheel well of the right front tire. There is a small rubber flap that hangs down above the brake lines. There was a stain on various parts of the frame and I thought I had a brake fluid leak but as I lifted the flap i see a small metal tube that is open on the end facing towards the rear of the vehicle. This now seems to be where the leak is coming from. Brake fluid level is stable. I traced the tube and it leads a few inches towards the front of the vehicle and then curves 180 degrees back toward the fire wall and disappears into there. When I stop to check it, I only always see a little bit of a drop of oily/watery(?) fluid at the tube opening. Staining is always there.

What is leaking?

What should I do? Several miles to go til I am able to put it in for a few days of servicing or repairs.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[retiring2texas]

transmission vent?

Well, no help yet from you folks.
but while I am not a mechanic I can google with the best. So as I was starting to believe it seems to be a vent.
Specifically, it seems to be a transmission vent.

the leak hasn't ever seemed to have been a constant flow and shifting is fine. still.
No unusual vibrations. Seems OK.

ASAP when I get to my final destination I will have the transmission fluid level checked.
It is the 5 speed manual. I don't see a dipstick anywhere I think you have to remove a bolt, right?
maybe it needs to be changed. My Dad kept pretty good maintenance records. I will go out to the hotel parking lot and look through his big envelope and see if he had any transmission work done. And re-read the owner manual about checking transmission fluid level....

 

[drmorbius]

Could it be the air conditioning condensation drain?

 

[retiring2texas]

drmorbius,

No sir, I don't think it is the a/c condensate drain.

I haven't been running the A/C.

I will either fire up the a/c and confirm where that drains from or look around and try to just see where it is located.

I think it is the transmission vent tube.
Based on google research and how the tube heads back towards and through the firewall. (isn't the a/c up front woith the fan belts and stuff?)

I arrive in Corpus Christi later today and will be there for a week to outprocess from the military so I will have time to have it looked at before I head to my final destination up near Austin.

Thanks.

 

[drmorbius]

Congrats to becoming a civilian again. It will be interesting to get this situation squared away. Hope its not a big deal. Good Luck!

 

[retiring2texas]

pass the salt while I eat my hat

oh drmorbius,

Man, I feel like a green recruit with this 4runner.
I fired up the A/C and it took a while but it freaking WAS the condensate drain afterall.
Now it is all coming back to me. The A/C compressor is up by the fan and belts. The codenser must be back where air can flow over it and into the car interior. I am not a mechanic. Once it was running nicely in the hot humid air here in Corpus Christi, it came blowing out a bunch of water droplets like Niagara falls and now looks OK. Maybe engine compartment oily mist over many years was coating the air passages and just allowing a slight trickle?
My dad probably didn't use the A/C much.

Pass the salt and maybe some tabasco while I eat my hat.
It tastes a little sandy for soem odd reason, munch, munch, munch.

Oh well, at least all my earlier fears about brake fluid leak or transmission problems are looking unfounded. Hoorah Toyota!

1 more week and I am a retired military dude.
Thanks for the well wishes. Same to you!

 

[retiring2texas]

man, I got to study more on this...

OK, I am all hosed. It is the evaporator and "cooling unit" that are located low and to the rear. I finally am in the manual.
It is a hassle because is a single pdf file I downloaded for free.

Is it worth it to buy a harcopy of the manual?