Help with leak diagnosis

[RangerRyan50]

I have a 94 Ranger XLT 4.0L
I am trying to identify what the reason is for having this black gunk all over stuff in the lower part of the engine: See Photos.
I don’t have any noticeable fluid leaks with oil or transmission fluid but it appears that something is leaking and drying up causing a black gunk on a bunch of stuff. I replaced the water pump recently and it was also covered in this black stuff. I am trying to maintain this truck as I just bought it and want to keep it in the best shape possible. Any help is appreciated!
I spent some time using a wire brush scrubbing off the black gunk on this part but you can see there is still a lot of it left crusted on there.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Best bet is to buy some good engine degreaser. Then if you know someone or have a steam cleaner yourself... spend a couple hours and clean the engine bay from the top and from the bottom. That way you start fresh and then keep an eye on it to see where it's coming from. Even a car wash pressure wash will remove a bunch of it. Heated water is a better bet though.

The general rule when looking for a leak is that the fluids will run down and blow back.

Just a guess but it kind of looks as if you may have a power steering leak... for starters.

 

[RangerRyan50]

Best bet is to buy some good engine degreaser. Then if you know someone or have a steam cleaner yourself... spend a couple hours and clean the engine bay from the top and from the bottom. That way you start fresh and then keep an eye on it to see where it's coming from. Even a car wash pressure wash will remove a bunch of it. Heated water is a better bet though.

The general rule when looking for a leak is that the fluids will run down and blow back.

Just a guess but it kind of looks as if you may have a power steering leak... for starters.

thanks! Do you think it’s possible that it’s coolant that dried up? It looks to me like the black gunk started by or at the water pump and ran down and as you said the wind may have pushed it back. This makes the most sense to me as the water pump was coated in this stuff and there was a slow coolant leak before I changed the whole cooling system. No noticeable low levels for oil or transmission fluid. Is there a way to check power steering fluid level?

 

[Uncle Gump]

There is a cap on the power steering pump reservoir... the cap has a dipstick attached.

Coolant will collect dirt too... but "black gunk" is typically some sort of oil.