Marinucci: Cleaning up after leak repair is essential step

Removing any fluid residue after a leak repair is part of a thorough job and not an afterthought to it.

Sometimes lingering liquid residue such as oil or coolant causes a vexing comeback by creating the false impression of a persistent leak. Of course, a vehicle owner interprets a persistent or ongoing leak as a failed repair.

Remember that all leaks are not the same. Depending upon the type of leak and its location on the vehicle, liquid residue may linger even though the leak repair was successful.

Worse yet, lingering liquid may slowly drip from the vehicle for a period of time until there's no residue remaining.

Mind you, a motorist may never notice any remnants of the old leak because he or she doesn't look for it. And the leak location simply may be difficult to see, for instance, without raising the vehicle on a lift.

Another factor is the condition of the customer's garage floor or parking spot. Over the years, a motorist may have tolerated various leaks until he could no longer ignore them — then the vehicle went in for repairs.

Consequently, the garage floor or parking spot already is so oily that the car owner usually won't recognize additional drips.

Matter of fact, this customer may have become so accustomed to the accumulated oil on the garage floor that he takes the mess for granted.

On the other hand, there are conscientious car owners who keep a garage floor clean in order to spot leaks quickly. So, this caliber of motorist may recognize the slightest leak after the liquid hits the garage floor.

Clearly, certain areas of automotive repair require technicians to make accurate judgment calls — including any clean-up following a leak repair. After all, today's leak fix may not be anything like yesterday's. Some leak repairs simply demand extra attention when the job is done.

Some savvy service managers require each technician to double-check the area around a freshly repaired leak. The objective is to prevent comebacks due to lingering residue, such as oil or coolant.

When in doubt, a tech must patiently rinse the work area with an appropriate cleaner. Some techs use a quick-drying brake cleaner; others use a multi-purpose cleaner such as Simple Green or equivalent product.

Some techs spray the cleaner onto the work area with a non-aerosol squirt bottle. Others apply the cleaner using a refillable, air-powered sprayer device.

Regardless of which "applicator" a tech chooses, he or she must wear proper eye protection throughout this clean-up process.

In some situations, a tech can blot up the remaining cleaner quickly and effectively with paper towels or shop wipes.

Other times, he can use compressed air and an air nozzle to blow off the cleaner or disperse it enough that it dries readily.

Monitor the time and material required for post-leak repair and budget for it accordingly.

Over the years, I have done my share of clean-ups after someone else's leak repair caused a comeback. Please make this simple step part of the job — period.