Mysterious leak on the driver's side of the engine bay

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I tried looking for something related to this prior but had no luck. I have a mysterious leak of something that seems to be acidic on the driver side of the engine bay. I brought it to the dealership where I purchased the vehicle and they said they have never seen something like this and have no idea what it could be. That dealership is known for not having great service so I made an appointment with a new dealership further away. I was wondering if anyone on here has had a similar situation. If you could check out the pictures below and let me know your thoughts that would be greatly appreciated.

 

Jesus, did your battery explode?

 

No, I took out the battery and there were no issues with it. I’m thinking it might be AC lines but I am really lost here and just hoping to not cause any further damage.

 

Can you wash it off with water? Is it eating the finish or just crust? Could be something you ran over? Is it a one off or continuous?

 

If it’s the AC lines you’ll be losing enough refrigerant to affect your cooling. Is your AC blowing warm? A lot of times you can smell what type of fluid has leaked by the smell, if it’s not obvious where it’s coming from.

 

I washed part of it off and it has left black marks behind. I was told by my insurance provider (I am somewhat close to my agent) to leave it as is so that the new dealership could see the full state of it. It could possibly be something I’ve ran over but that is highly unlikely in my opinion because it seems to have the most damage right behind the battery. While there is some markings on the frame and bottom end of the engine there, it does not compare to what is visible up top.

 

In Trail, British Columbia there was an acid tanker that left the Teck Resources smelter with a valve half closed. It leaked sulphuric acid onto the highway all the way to US Border, and wrote off 450 cars in one day. Weird shit happens.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...off-since-acid-spill-on-b-c-highway-1.5022834

 

Good point, the AC does blow cold air. I’m not certain of the different smells. My other thought is that somehow brake fluid somehow squirted out of the reservoir.

 

Very interesting. Thanks for the information

 

It looks like your battery is gassing excessively. Check your charging voltage, it should be about 14.4v running, rev it to 2500 and make sure it does not go much higher. Are you running any devices with the engine off that are discharging the battery? Excessive discharging and charging of the battery could also cause this. If nothing is found I'd change the battery, the corrosion you're seeing is far more expensive to contain than a hundred dollar battery.

Once you get the issue resolved spray some oil or metal protector on the corrosion to stop it.

 

It is really tough to tell from the pictures but also look on the right side of the engine as a source. The fan belt can carry leaks from one side of an engine bay and drag it to the otherside. The alternator bend would be a natural shedding point which could cause the mess to occur where you have mentions.

 

Will definitely check the battery once over. And I have not been running anything that would take excessive amounts of charge out the battery.
Do you have any recommendations on metal protectors or oils? Was thinking about taking it to a body shop to have fixed after the issue was found.

 

Will do, thank you. If I find something from anywhere I will post it here.

 

Dude that's crazy!

 

Definitely looks like some sort of acid splatter. Try mixing up a bit of baking soda and water, dab it on a spot and see if it foams up.

 

I tried it and it did foam up. Thanks for the tip

 

Now, mix up a big batch and use an old paint brush, let it sit until it quits foaming then carefully rinse with water.

 

Is this related? Looks like it fell off a cliff and skidded across 500 miles of concrete

 

It is related, hence why I posted the pictures.

 

Overcharging battery boiling over?
Bad alternator?