I am checking for vehicle leaks in my car. Is placing cardboard a good solution to find a leak before a trip? Are there specific locations to place the cardboard under the car. I have not noticed any leaks right now, but I have had noticeable ones in the past. Any help is appreciated.
Sure, put the cardboard under the radiator/engine/transmission area. Have you needed to add any fluids, other than windshield washer fluid? Keep in mind that if you run your AC, the AC will take the humidity out of the air and drip clear water under the car while and shortly after running it.
If you find leaks, you can identify what's leaking by the color and smell of the drip, comparing it to oil, coolant and trans fluid.
I've done the cardboard trick under the engine and the transmission before. It helps give you a good idea where the leak might be coming from. Helped me find a leak coming from my oil pan bolt.
With that said, a proper leak test would probably be better. It could be any number of things, oil, transmission oil, power steering, brake fluid, coolant, or my favorite leak... condensation. Why is my favorite leak condensation? Because most of the time there really isn't a problem, it's just the AC doing it's job, and it forms condensation.
I am checking for leaks to make my vehicle is good. My last leak was obvious after awhile and needed immediate attention. The videos helped me determine that it wasn't water when checking the color of the fluid. The cardboard so far has not returned any fluid spots.
Cardboard only works for leaks that drip. In my experience that doesn't happen often.
To see potential problems, you'll need to jack up the car and get under there with a flashlight.
Or get a mechanic to put it up on a hoist.
This is a good way to see ahead of time what to expect from your car.
example of inspecting under a vehicle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0yUgCgdt9A
