Fluid leak near distributor and exhaust flange

[aevansgatech]

I've recently noticed a larger pool of fluid on the front passenger side under the engine. Over the course of a few weeks, it seems that fluid is dripping down from somewhere, collecting on the exhaust flange where the bolt passes through and connects the exhaust to the trans housing. The fluid just drips from there, but I suspect it's either coming from the auto trans fluid lines above or the distributor.

From what I can tell, the distributor gets a bit moist (mainly around the vacuum advance module). I don't know if it's a normal amount of oil/gunk on there so I"ll try to get some good pictures. I also can't clearly state whether it's engine oil or trans fluid. I'll try to collect a more "pure sample" and determine the proper color. Red = trans fluid for me.

Any other ideas would be very helpful!

[jagonza]

I had a bit of a leak onto my exhaust manifold and down pipe that ended up being a loose hold down bolt on the distributor, about an 1/8 of a turn shut it off,

I cleaned everything really well, then went for a short ride and was able to trace it to that.

Hope it's that easy for you.

[So Cal Mark]

if it's a large pool it's probably either trans fluid or coolant. Auto trans fluid will usually clean the areas it leaks around.

[jdssr]

Have you taken the distributor cap off to see if there is oil in the distributor? If there is, the seal is bad.

[aevansgatech]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the recs. I'll open up the distributor and see what the inside is like. I'll also make sure the distributor bolts are not loose

This is the amount of gunk I see as well as the area where the auto trans lines have a connection.