Leaking under steering column- oil like substance leaking when parking brake is applied- 1978 thunderbird

[Dogfight102]

Hello I’m 17 and know absolutely nothing about cars. I bought my thunderbird and had it fixed up i.e new spark plugs, new brake lines, new brake fluid reservoir, etc. I’ve done a lot to get it running. However a few months in owning the car I noticed a slurping noise down by the petals. I started inspecting and noticed that a black oil like fluid was dripping from a greenish disk under the steering column. The fluid will shoot out when I shift into and out of my parking gear. This is an automatic transmission btw. A few more months my brakes were spongy. That’s when I replaced the brake fluid reservoir. The brakes work but the fluid still comes out. I did even more digging and discovered that it spits more oily stuff when I use the ebrake. When engaged or at the moment of pressing it down you hear the slurp noise then when I use the manual release it spits oil. I decided to test the ebrake itself. I followed the original manual that came with the car, pressing the foot brake then firmly press or step on the ebrake. With the ebrake engaged I shifted the car out of park to see if the emergency brake would hold. Btw when I engaged the ebrake the brake light on my dash turned red. However when I shifted the transmission out of park with the parking brake on it just continued to roll. I was looking all of to figure out what the heck is leaking but no luck. I just want the floor mat not to be slippery anymore. Please help give me an idea on what’s happening or any clues. I love my car and I want to fix it.

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[OneAmongOthers]

First you need to see if its transmission fluid or is it brake fluid. You really need to find out what this fluid is. Need to narrow down your search and diagnosis. I am not sure about a 78, but the older tbirds had an automatic parking brake release mechanism that released the parking brake when the car was shifted from park to drive.

 

[Dogfight102]

First you need to see if its transmission fluid or is it brake fluid. You really need to find out what this fluid is. Need to narrow down your search and diagnosis. I am not sure about a 78, but the older tbirds had an automatic parking brake release mechanism that released the parking brake when the car was shifted from park to drive.

I’ve noticed it happens when the car is letting off the brake when shifted into any

First you need to see if its transmission fluid or is it brake fluid. You really need to find out what this fluid is. Need to narrow down your search and diagnosis. I am not sure about a 78, but the older tbirds had an automatic parking brake release mechanism that released the parking brake when the car was shifted from park to drive.

how can I tell the difference. All the fluids in the car are the same color. I can post a video to show exactly what’s happening but I honestly have no clue.

 

[Dogfight102]

This is what I see. When I pull the ebrake release that weird plunger thing moves and makes the noise. I don’t know what fluid is inside but it smells off. It’s a brown color and I have no possible clue what it is.

 

[OneAmongOthers]

All the fluids should not be the same color. If that’s the case you need to pull the transmission stick out and check it. Transmission fluid should be red. Brake fluid is clear or a blackish color when old. Brown sounds like oil or many some fluid that has leaked through and mixed with rust somewhere.

 

[ak7an]

Is the "Slurp"sound you hear only when releasing the park brake, or when you push the brake pedal too? To me it sounds like when your master cylinder (brake reservoir) failed, it might have leaked brake fluid into the vacuum brake booster. Moving the brake pedal in and out could give a slurping sound when the leaked fluid is being displaced. If the fluid you see dripping on to the floor mat is brake fluid, I have no Idea how it would be getting on the steering column unless the booster is so full of fluid that it is squirting out around the brake pedal shaft when the pedal is depressed. Try this, start the car and with it running see if you can watch the brake pedal shaft while depressing the brake pedal, you might see fluid coming in around that shaft.. If this is what is happening a new vacuum booster for your brakes will be needed. Hope this helps you.. BTW When I was 17 I had a 78 Tbird, Town Landau.. Its the car that I miss the most.. Wished I had it today.
Keep us posted of your progress.
Ed

 

[Dogfight102]

Is the "Slurp"sound you hear only when releasing the park brake, or when you push the brake pedal too? To me it sounds like when your master cylinder (brake reservoir) failed, it might have leaked brake fluid into the vacuum brake booster. Moving the brake pedal in and out could give a slurping sound when the leaked fluid is being displaced. If the fluid you see dripping on to the floor mat is brake fluid, I have no Idea how it would be getting on the steering column unless the booster is so full of fluid that it is squirting out around the brake pedal shaft when the pedal is depressed. Try this, start the car and with it running see if you can watch the brake pedal shaft while depressing the brake pedal, you might see fluid coming in around that shaft.. If this is what is happening a new vacuum booster for your brakes will be needed. Hope this helps you.. BTW When I was 17 I had a 78 Tbird, Town Landau.. Its the car that I miss the most.. Wished I had it today.
Keep us posted of your progress.
Ed

Alrighty I’ve checked a dip stick and I’m not sure which one it is but I found an identical match in color. The slurp noise only happens when the car is shifted out of park. Or when the ebrake is released. The master cylinder was just replaced so that can’t be the problem. I’m sorry I know absolutely nothing about the car it must be cringey however I would like to fix it and learn my tbird. Anyway I have more pictures.

 

[OneAmongOthers]

You need to take some time and learn about your vehicle. It's not a wise idea to get a 40 year old vehicle and then open the hood and be absolutely clueless about what goes on under it. I am not trying to insult you, but you must understand that in order for us to help you have to have some idea what things are. The trans dipstick is usually on the passenger side of the engine bay in the back. You can follow it down. to see where it comes out of the transmission.

 

[Dogfight102]

I’m going to read the manual more. And I completely understand. The car was mint with only 67k miles. The guy wanted 800 for it and I just had to have it. Anyway I’ll continue looking and reading manuals and learning how everything works. I’ll come back when I can narrow the search.

 

[OneAmongOthers]

I’m going to read the manual more. And I completely understand. The car was mint with only 67k miles. The guy wanted 800 for it and I just had to have it. Anyway I’ll continue looking and reading manuals and learning how everything works. I’ll come back when I can narrow the search.

Pretty nice looking ride! Hope you can find out what's causing all the trouble.

 

[ak7an]

Very nice looking car. Sounds like you need to take if to a reputable mechanic and have that checked. If you do ask the mechanic to show you what it is and explain it. That will help you learn and understand a few things about you car. Cars of that vintage take a little more TLC and know how to keep them up and going. I wish you luck.
Ed

 

[OneAmongOthers]

Very nice looking car. Sounds like you need to take if to a reputable mechanic and have that checked. If you do ask the mechanic to show you what it is and explain it. That will help you learn and understand a few things about you car. Cars of that vintage take a little more TLC and know how to keep them up and going. I wish you luck.
Ed

You will be hard pressed to find a mechanic wanting or willing to work on a 40 or 50 year old vehicle. Especially reliably. Most often shy away from older vehicles in my experience. Good luck though. A lot of the reasons mainly stemming from parts availability and time diagnosing problems (time equals lost money while the car sits in their shop). Remember you can't just plug a scanner into these things. It's all down to man power.

 

[Maunchi]

The only thing it could possibly be is brake fluid. There are no other fluids that would be remotely close to that area unless you had a manual trans w/ a hydraulic slave-which you dont. My best guess is that the seal on the back of your master cylinder is leaking and making its way in the interior of the car somehow. The squishy sound from the ebrake could be completely coincidence, idk, but the ebrake is strictly manual ( just a cable ) Have you checked your master cylinder level? Has it gone down a little? Get deep under the dash (good luck😉) and look at where the rod connecting from the brake pedal that goes through the firewall and see if its wet with fluid. I cant imagine it coming from anywhere else.
Let us know what you find..

 

[Dogfight102]

The only thing it could possibly be is brake fluid. There are no other fluids that would be remotely close to that area unless you had a manual trans w/ a hydraulic slave-which you dont. My best guess is that the seal on the back of your master cylinder is leaking and making its way in the interior of the car somehow. The squishy sound from the ebrake could be completely coincidence, idk, but the ebrake is strictly manual ( just a cable ) Have you checked your master cylinder level? Has it gone down a little? Get deep under the dash (good luck😉) and look at where the rod connecting from the brake pedal that goes through the firewall and see if its wet with fluid. I cant imagine it coming from anywhere else.
Let us know what you find..

It’s a shifting problem. My transmission fluid is low and the color under the dash is an identical match to the transmission fluid. Idk where the trans modulator is located but the part that’s leaking looks identical to a modulator

 

[Dogfight102]

The silver part is what pushes the fluid out onto the floor

 

[OneAmongOthers]

Transmission modulator is on the transmission itself. That silver thing you are looking at is a vacuum pump or motor if you will (notice the black vacuum hose connected to the top of it). Probably the auto release for the parking brake. There wasn't any hydraulic pumps in the passenger compartment

 

[Dogfight102]

Transmission modulator is on the transmission itself. That silver thing you are looking at is a vacuum pump or motor if you will (notice the black vacuum hose connected to the top of it). Probably the auto release for the parking brake. There wasn't any hydraulic pumps in the passenger compartment

Is it possible transmission fluid could be finding its way into the vacuum hose causing a leak inside

 

[OneAmongOthers]

Unlikely. Trace the vacuum line to its source. Maybe something is leaking down the hose. Also I find it HIGHLY unlikely that it is in fact transmission fluid. What color did you say it was? Remember transmission fluid is red. Any other color fluid you are finding is NOT transmission fluid. Also if you are saying your transmission fluid is the color in question I would defiantly recommend checking it. Because you could be looking at a ticking time bomb.

 

[henro]

Modulator valve is on the transmission.it has a diaphragm in it that ruptured and allows fluid to be drawn into the intake manifold
The emergency brake has a vacuum operated release mechanism . It's getting the transmission fluid from the intake manifold
Replace the modulator.

 

[Dogfight102]

Unlikely. Trace the vacuum line to its source. Maybe something is leaking down the hose. Also I find it HIGHLY unlikely that it is in fact transmission fluid. What color did you say it was? Remember transmission fluid is red. Any other color fluid you are finding is NOT transmission fluid. Also if you are saying your transmission fluid is the color in question I would defiantly recommend checking it. Because you could be looking at a ticking time bomb.

When the throttle is let of the same noise is evident. Most mechanics don’t see an underlying problem