Cold Weather Causing Coolant Leak

[BigLo]

Its my first winter owning a mustang (2018 GT for reference) and noticed this morning I had a relatively small (~2” diameter) spot underneath the front left hand side of the engine. I drove it yesterday evening for the first time in about a month since it was nice out. It was around 70 yesterday after about 2-3 weeks of below freezing temps (with a handful of single digits days mixed in).

I dabbed a white rag in it and it had a orangish-pink tint to the fluid and had the consistency of coolant. There wasn’t much fluid at all, It looked like it dripped off the skid plate onto the floor. (I checked the top side of the plate and didn't see any pooled fluid either).

My question is, could it have leaked a bit of coolant after sitting in such cold weather for so long? Im pulling the skid plate off this weekend to do a thorough inspection but wanted to see if anyone else had ran into something like this.

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[Eyesac]

Cold coolant leak is typically some component or oring shrinking when cold and leaking and then when things are warm they expand and don't leak. Need to pressurize the system when cold and it should be a little more obvious (and some dye might help).

 

[robvas]

Cold coolant leak is typically some component or oring shrinking when cold and leaking and then when things are warm they expand and don't leak. Need to pressurize the system when cold and it should be a little more obvious (and some dye might help).

Yup, common for them to leak when it gets really cold at night (below freezing) and not leak the rest of the time

 

[Skye]

Yes, it could leak in the conditions you described.

You can DIY or take to your favored mechanic. Testers can pressurize the system when cold. The tool is like a bicycle tire pump for radiators and would attached to the overflow tank. Connect and pressurize just a bit, then use a mirror, light and other tools to look for drips. You can also inspect without pressurizing, looking for any tell-tale signs or a leak. Suspect areas can have a white, mineral deposit appearance, where the coolant leaked but then dried once the engine heated up.

Edit,

A common leak source will be the water pump. Look directly underneath it, for signs of a leak.

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