Axle Leak Notes

Upon starting to remove the bolts required to remove the old strut, excess dried oil was discovered on the rear driver side CV axle boot adjacent to the rotor.

As part of diagnosis and as a precaution, I flushed the differential to make sure that it hadn't run dry from the leak, as well as check for excess metal chunks in the old oil.

The old differential oil likely was never replaced and was much darker than the new oil. There was not an excessive amount of metal. All the metal was in fine pieces and formed into sludge.

The bottom of the CV axle boot was cleaned and will be monitored as I drive the car for new leaks.

Replacement of the axle seems much more engaged than the struts and I will probably avoid if possible.

The question remains, that if the problem is significant, does the whole axle have to be replaced, or is there a specific seal that is near the rotor, or maybe the boot is just torn and the boot can be replaced.

While putting the control arm into place on driver side rear, I saw a SINGLE drop of gear oil touch on my jack when the jack came into contact with the knuckle's boot connection to control arm.