1999 C2 - clear, cool fluid from front right corner

Was driving to work today, and had an unfortunate encounter with somebody else's underbody panel. Came out from under a truck to my right at the last minute, and I couldn't get out of the way in time. Went under both right wheels. Drove for about 2 miles after that, and parked. No warning lights came on, and the coolant temp stayed where it normally is, but it was only a further ~2 miles. Checked all around the car, saw something splattered on the oil filter housing (from the front), followed it along underbody, and it seems to be coming from the lines behind the passenger side front wheel (could be from above or ahead of these, but I can't see anything else wet). Fluid was clear, and had leaked enough to drip a ~10cm puddle in about a minute of sitting. It was cool to the touch, but I'm unsure if it got cold since leaving whatever line/tank it belongs in, or if it was cool from the start. I tried to smell it, but it didn't seem to smell like anything. Felt maybe a little more viscous than water? My best guesses here are coolant or power steering fluid. I'm willing to bet I'd have smelled brake fluid, but I'm unsure what AC refrigerant even looks like. To my knowledge all of the fluid in the car is factory-spec. I checked the coolant level just by looking at the level in the expansion tank, and it doesn't look any different than normal. I'll check all of this again before I even try to start it, but preliminarily should I be worried about driving it ~15 miles home or ~20 to my independent?

There r fuel and ac lines in the back of the wheel well and coolant and ac lines in the front if the wheel well. If the ac turns in u did not dump the ac charge. Maybe post a pic of your damage?

I'll try and get a pic in about an hour. Didn't get one before since there wasn't much to see. Whatever broke is behind a cover (probably the wheel arch liner or that side underbody piece), so I didn't bother posting. Isn't AC refrigerant a gas at room temp? Or are you suggesting it all escaping condensed a bunch of water? Either way, my bet is coolant at this point. Its a slow leak since I still have coolant in the car and it wasn't gushing, so I'm hoping I can make it to my independent. Don't have tools or parts on hand, nor time right now. If its power steering I probably shouldn't be driving anyways, don't want to run the pump dry.

The power stearing lines are on the drivers side so u woild jot worry about thats. There is oil in the ac system that will blead out with the refrigerant, usually will have a green tint if it has dye. A coolant leak is most likely as there r a lot of hoses in that area. Its a crap shoot if u drive it without knowing the lication of the leak. Could be a loose clamp due to the hit or a broke clamp that will allow the hose to pop off and u will be out of fluid in 10sec?

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Fair point. I'll try and determine whether its AC oil or coolant. I'm assuming coolant would taste sweet? There wasn't enough to really smell it when I left the car.

check brake fluid reservoir/level too, just to be safe.

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Will do.

AC dye should shine under UV light, if its dripping off anything you should be able to wipe a drop of it which should appear bright green.

Well if it tastes like coolant, smells like coolant, and comes from a coolant line, then its coolant. Unfortunately it had mostly evaporated so there wasn't much to photo, but its definitely coolant. Parked an hour and a half ago, and its southern CA, so the sun made quick work of it. Tasted some still beaded on the bottom of the wheel arch liner, certainly sweet. Brake fluid was full, and the fluid is definitely not green. Probably going to just arrange for a tow to my independent.

Ended up making it to the independent with a tow truck. Before starting it, I added some water, and it took about 1.25 liters of water to get to the max mark at cold, so it definitely lost some coolant. Hopefully its just a hose or a fitting that's gone bad, and not a cracked radiator.

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Even if its a rad they r not a lot of labor to swap and they r reasonably priced. If anything is bent up i have some left over brackets and fans. Also replacing a 20yr-old rad may be a good idea anyways.

Turned out to be... nothing. Thankfully. Car was a little low on coolant to begin with, so whatever I hit must have sprayed coolant into the wheel arch, where it was dripping when I parked. Those 2 in combination had me jump to coolant leak. Took the whole front of the car apart, pressure tested the cooling system, no leaks, nothing behind any liners or the bumper cover. Damage was limited to a scrape and a small crack in the trailing edge of the bomber cover. All things considered I thought it would be worse. Ended up flushing and refiling the coolant since I added tap water to get it to the max line before I even started it to drive onto the tow truck (can't be too safe ) so I wanted that out of the loop.

Maybe your cowl area drain line was plugged and now its not.

What about the washer fluid tank ?

Just an aside� It�s probably not a good idea to use �taste test� to identify fluids�Many of the fluids used in automobiles are poisonous�

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ive used the �taste technique� my entire driving life. Until recently that is... My Son drove the grocery go getter (GMC Yukon), came home late and just parked it on the driveway as to not wake mom and dad by opening the garage door. I was on the front porch enjoying my morning coffee and noticed wetness under the perimeter of the car. Must have been from the sprinklers... Hours later, still there. Time to investigate. Step 1, touch. Slick and oily. Step 2, smell. Nothing... odorless. Step 3, taste. What taste?? Just the fire from an angry god!!!! I couldn�t taste for a week! Still don�t know what it was or how many years it will take off my life. My son later told me there was a tanker truck over turned on the highway and he had to drive through whatever was spilling out of the trailer. I�ve learned my lesson!!

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​​​​​​ I'm skeptical based on anecdotal evidence.😂