Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Red Fluid Leak in '95 Contour

I'm new here so I hope that this isn't a repeat. I did look at the posts brfore writing my own.
Red fluid, which I think is transmission fluid, is leaking from under the steering column area onto my foot after driving for around an hour. I took it to the shop and they couldn't find any place where a leak could happen. That was 8 days ago. No leaking occured after that until today after driving from my college class which is an hour from home. The liquid is oily and red and makes my foot slippery on the brake pedal and gas pedal. It seems to leak across an expanse because it leaked on the break pedal and my foot when it was on the gas pedal. It cause dmy carpet to get wet with the fluid also. Does anyone know what the problem could be?
MLP

Welcome . What engine and is it a manual or automatic?

Brake fluid, power steering fluid or ATFluid is red or close to red in color. Open up the hood, check for any leaks and check the levels of those fluids.

Helpful hints from Autozone.
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/bd/bb/0900823d801bbdbb.jsp

Fluids and lubricants.
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/c0/58/0900823d801bc058.jsp

It is automatic and I think it is a 4ltr GL.

Thanks for the clarification. I will check fluids in the morning.
MLP

See if fluid is spraying from a hose or metal pipe underhood. The steering lines like to leak...

Okay, I will do that. I will let you know what I find out. I just had my air fixed, I had to get new lines and a flush plus recharge of coolant. Thanks for your quick response.

It's one of two possible problems:

1) Steering leak that is coming through a ripped or torn lower column boot.

2) Transmission fluid migrating up the speedo cable due to a leaking VSS.

Steve

I saw two different mechanics, one was at the Ford dealership, and both gave the same explanation for my problem. The steering column has red grease inside that over time (it's a 1995 with 173,000 miles) and with heat (I live in Louisiana) will sometimes leak out. They said that this was the problem. All that I could do was to clean up the mess until it all eventually leaked out and that the grease did not need to be replaced. So your diagnosis about the steering column leak is correct. Thanks for your help.

I had a VW do something like this once when it got old and down here in the heat. The plastic caged needle bearing on the end of the steering column broke and the grease dripped on the floor.