# If I'm leaking a copious amount of vile greenish fluid...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-leaking-a-copious-amount-of-vile-greenish-fluid/200021>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 7, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-leaking-a-copious-amount-of-vile-greenish-fluid/200021 "2003-09-07T01:16:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![burntsand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba9def/32.png) [@burntsand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burntsand)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-leaking-a-copious-amount-of-vile-greenish-fluid/200021/21 "2003-09-07T21:16:36Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by MsRobyn \*  
> \*\*It’s not “supposedly” sweet; it _is_ sweet. When Airman fixed **GingeroftheNorth** ’s radiator a few weeks ago, he got to find out just how sweet it really is. Fortunately, he didn’t ingest a lot of it, or y’all would have been hearing about his funeral).  
> \*\*

You may recall a scandal 10-12 years ago when French winemakers were found to be adulterating their white wines with ethylene glycol to make unpalatable wines sweeter. Ethylene glycol is a main ingredient in most radiator coolant/antifreezes.

BTW, if you suspect a major coolant leak, do not drive your car anywhere except to the nearest garage. This is a recipe for a seized engine, which is very expensive to fix. I had to scrap an '89 New Yorker when the cooling system completely died; the “Check engine” warning light never came on until after the engine temp warning gauge had hit the top of the scale.

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