Not quite sure what it is, there are a couple of drips of oil on the inner face of the wheel that have run down the tyre sidewall too.

This is on the front drivers side wheel.

Had a look and I can't see anywhere obvious it's coming from, however the oil looks a bit like used engine oil.

There are no obvious signs of oil coming from the engine area.

It's just a couple of drips, which have run down, most likely as the car has stopped, because they are not all over the wheel, just in two "clean" drip and runs.

So any thoughts on what it's going to be?

- Shockers?

- CV joint?

The oil didn't smell of anything in particular.

Damper, or possibly a small tear in the outer CV joint, would be my first thoughts.

Not quite sure what it is, there are a couple of drips of oil on the inner face of the wheel that have run down the tyre sidewall too.

This is on the front drivers side wheel.

Had a look and I can't see anywhere obvious it's coming from, however the oil looks a bit like used engine oil.

There are no obvious signs of oil coming from the engine area.

It's just a couple of drips, which have run down, most likely as the car has stopped, because they are not all over the wheel, just in two "clean" drip and runs.

So any thoughts on what it's going to be?

- Shockers?

- CV joint?

The oil didn't smell of anything in particular.

Unlikely to be CV joint - grease filled and when they go they tend to fling grease outwards from the centre, all over the wheel/tyre

Shockers - possibly. Oil filled and can and do leak. Is the top of the piston oily?

Brake fluid - possibly. Check the hose and bleed nipple.

Get a clean white piece of paper (not tissue) and dab this onto the fluid. See if it has any colour. Might give you a clue where its from/what it is.

Colour is black and on the finger it didn't tingle at all between checking it and washing it off.

I'll have to get under and have a look if I can.

Passing dog pee'd on said wheel. Mixed with brake dust to form black liquid. Ran down tyre?

What ever you do, DON'T taste it (or if you do and it makes your teeth curl, it probably is the above ;-)

Passing dog pee'd on said wheel. Mixed with brake dust to form black liquid. Ran down tyre?

What ever you do, DON'T taste it (or if you do and it makes your teeth curl, it probably is the above ;-)

From experience??? :p

Unlikely to be CV joint - grease filled and when they go they tend to fling grease outwards from the centre, all over the wheel/tyre

Shockers - possibly. Oil filled and can and do leak. Is the top of the piston oily?

Brake fluid - possibly. Check the hose and bleed nipple.

Get a clean white piece of paper (not tissue) and dab this onto the fluid. See if it has any colour. Might give you a clue where its from/what it is.

I had a CV boot go once and it splurged the grease all over the place including the brakes pads and disc. Big mess and a rather scary moment when I had braking only on one front wheel.

Power steering fluid perhaps? Not sure where the reservoir is on the mkII.

I had a CV boot go once and it splurged the grease all over the place including the brakes pads and disc. Big mess and a rather scary moment when I had braking only on one front wheel.

Power steering fluid perhaps? Not sure where the reservoir is on the mkII.

IIRC the MK II doesn't have any fluid and is purely electrical assistance.

Given the location, the obvious suggestion has to be brake fluid...........................If it hasn't been changed for a year or two, the fluid in the wheel cylinders is likely to be black.................................Don't ask me why it goes black - it just does.

If the substance is running down the inner face of the wheel and tyre; it's difficult to see that it could be anything else.

Given the location, the obvious suggestion has to be brake fluid...........................If it hasn't been changed for a year or two, the fluid in the wheel cylinders is likely to be black.................................Don't ask me why it goes black - it just does.

If the substance is running down the inner face of the wheel and tyre; it's difficult to see that it could be anything else.

I found a bit of thicker black almost grease like stuff on the bottom of the shock absorber and the top of the CV joint boot.

There are a few oily drops on the rear of the wheel arch, but it's not as if it's thrown everywhere.

Can somebody confirm if the CV boot itself spins with the shaft, or if it's fixed in place and only the inners move with the car.

On the brakes side of things, the brake fluid was done around march, however the brake disks and pads were replaced about 1 month (2-3000 miles) ago so I guess something could have been caught.

I should also point out that by the inner face, i mean just catching the wheels lip, before running down the tyre as opposed to being p*ssed all over the inside of the wheel.

It was literally a couple of drops, although it does look like some of it has run down the wishbone as there are a couple of oily/greasy drops on there.

Edited 15 August, 201015 yr by cheezemonkhai

The CV boot spins with the driveshaft, it's connected to the driveshaft and the wheel hub, both ends have a steel band to hold it in place.

I would have a good feel around the CV boot in case there is a tiny split or hole letting a little CV grease get out.

Have a look up at the rear of the engine block to ensure there are no leaks, mine has a tiny oil leak at the back of the block that occasionally drips and hits the driveshaft and sends it all over the place.

It might be best to clean up the whole area and see if the oily crap re appears.

The CV boot spins with the driveshaft, it's connected to the driveshaft and the wheel hub, both ends have a steel band to hold it in place.

I would have a good feel around the CV boot in case there is a tiny split or hole letting a little CV grease get out.

Have a look up at the rear of the engine block to ensure there are no leaks, mine has a tiny oil leak at the back of the block that occasionally drips and hits the driveshaft and sends it all over the place.

It might be best to clean up the whole area and see if the oily crap re appears.

The joint did look like it was connected, but having a small pile of greasy oily mess on the top of the boot made we wonder if something was leaking down onto it.

I'd have thought if it was coming from the boot it would have been well sprayed around being in that position.

I can see this potentially being a right royal pain in the ar$e to diagnose.

Edited 15 August, 201015 yr by cheezemonkhai

Been out and had another nosey and still none the wiser if it's the suspension dripping on the boot or the boot on the suspension.

I'll pop it up a garage and get them to have a look before I end up with a huge bill for the whole joint.

So how much is the CV joint itself as I'm wondering if it might not be too much more expensive to have that done rather than just the boot.

I'm assuming to do a CV joint boot only, you have to clean the joint out to remove any possible dirt in it and then re-grease (moly grease?) it and put the new boot on?

Right, popped it up to a garage to have a look as there was CV grease around the boot, it's looking like the boot has just started to go.

Booked in for them to change the boot as I can't be doing with trying to do that myself on axle stands so I'll let people know if that indeed is the correct outcome.

Just make sure they replace the boot with genuine parts. All the 'motor factor' boots and clips are of very poor quality. Boot kit should be around £16+ vat and should only be 1 hour max to change. I prefer to remove the driveshaft as the cv joints can take alot of pursuation to get off.

Edited 16 August, 201015 yr by IbizaAlex

Just make sure they replace the boot with genuine parts. All the 'motor factor' boots and clips are of very poor quality. Boot kit should be around £16+ vat and should only be 1 hour max to change. I prefer to remove the driveshaft as the cv joints can take alot of pursuation to get off.

It's going to be a genuine part from TPS and the labour was quoted at an hour at a reasonable rate.

Will let you know if anything else is found while digging around in there.