[Player]

After driving as little as a mile or so, then pulling back in the garage and turning off the engine, there is a sound coming from under the car (near the tranny/exhaust area). It sounds like a cross between an electrical zapping sound and liquid hitting a very hot surface and immediately dissipating. It only lasts 20-30 seconds and is gone. I've gotten under there to try and diagnose it, but had not luck.

Very strange! Anyone ever experienced this before?

[silver69]

sounds like you ac dripping condensate water onto hot pipe. They did this either by dumb luck or to burn off water so it does not puddle under car. This is of course if you had the AC running.

[Player]

The car was fitted with AC, but unfortunately it is sitting in a box in the garage right now.

I certainly hope this isn't anything I should be worried about. I've had a flashlight under the car as well as trying to look back behind the engine and the firewall trying to see something...no luck.

[Player]

Ok, I finally figured out what the noise sounds like...a bug zapper! You know those blue neon bug zappers that used to be really popular, that's it. Don't know if that helps identify this for anyone.

It really is disconcerting. I don't know if I should be worried about it. I'm hesitant to drive very far.

[66Sprint200]

Maybe you have a slight tranny leak and the trans is leaking onto the exhaust. Do you have any friends with a four post lift? If so, right after running it put it up and see if you can find anything.

[Jen33]

I got out of my car the other day (a hot day) and I usually don't run the AC but I DO run the fan (it's almost just as cold) and when I shut my door I heard this hiss/zap sound and it bothered me as well. So I shut my door again and it made the same noise. I looked underneath and saw that it was just h2o even though I wasn't running the AC. Could possibly be the same thing? If you are using the fan/regular air.

[Jay H 237]

It does sound like a fluid leak, could be the tranny or could be in the area of the back of the motor. A really close inspection may be the only way to find it, and look at the exhaust closely, there should be some stain or marking where the fluid has been hitting it.


I know your air isn't functional, but for those wondering the drain for the air in 69 is located in the passenger toe panel torward the tranny tunnel.

[Player]

The air in a '69 drains where? On the drivers side near the firewall?

The scary thing for me is that I was in a friends Acura recently when he was telling me about some steam that would come from under his hood when he stopped at lights. When I saw it I explained that it wasn't steam, but smoke. I had him pull over so I could take a look (don't want to cruise around in a smoking car). The influx of oxygen to the engine compartment ignited the leaking power steering fluid that was dripping onto his exhaust manifold my his firewall.

So yeah, this noise has had me a little worried. I'm pretty confident from my observations and everyone's feedback that it is a fluid leak of some kind. I checked my tranny pan bolts and they were a little loose (not sure how that would drip on the exhaust though. But I'll run it some more and take a closer look. Not sure where else the tranny could be leaking from.

Thanks for everyones feedback!

[Jay H 237]

Originally Posted by Player

The air in a '69 drains where? On the drivers side near the firewall?

No, passenger side. The drain is in the toe board, the panel that slopes up where the passenger's feet would be. You may be able to see a small section of the hose in the car.

There's a pic of the drain in the last pic on this page, Limited Edition 600 Restoration - Part 13

If you are leaking fluid, something has to be going down, it may be a small leak but sooner or later you'll notice one of the fluid levels being low.

[Player]

Ok, so I heard the noise the other day when the car wasn't hot...I was just trying to start it. I'm wondering if there is a leak somewhere that pressure is pushing air through. Maybe some sort of fluid in there that is causing it to sound like an electric zap...as opposed to a hiss.