The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Fluid Leak

I recently finished up a complete rear brake drum rebuild. In no hurry to adjust and bleed at the moment. So, this GM 10 bolt axle/brake assembly under my '59 is out of a late model Camaro...year unknown. Over the past 2 to 3 weeks I have noticed small oil droplets forming on the garage floor directly below the spring perch to axle U-bolts (drivers side). At first it appeared like I had a brake line that had chaffed a hole....so I replaced in kind. Well, this oil spotting continues. Carefully, looking/wiping in and around the perch I see no visible sign of pooling oil. No evidence of a hairline crack along the welds at least on initial checks.

Note, the leaf springs are damp with contamination.

This is puzzling for sure. Have no intention of taste testing to see if it is in fact brake or diff fluid.

If you place a clean sheet of card board under it over night you should be able to confirm the type of fluid. Gear oil will be dark brown to red, brake fluid will be yellow. It could be a small pin hole in the weld on your spring perch, just a thought.

Tasting is the only true way to tell. Lick it up directly from the floor to avoid contaminating it with cheeseburger grease on your fingers.
On a more serious note, check to see it it is gear oil is weeping from where a bracket was ground of during the rear end swap conversion. I had that happen to me on a 12 bolt. Gear oil will wick through the tiniest of passages.

The color directly on the finished concrete floor tends to be in the yellow range not brown/darker which would indicate gear oil.

I'm going to spray down with brake cleaner and do another closer inspection. Odd though that it migrated across the leafs on the springs.

Could it be that there's too much oil in the rear end? Just an idea - I don't know what happens when you overfill a Camaro rear end.

BTW, you can determine the year of your Camaro rear end by checking the numbers punched into the front of the axle tube as described here: http://nastyz28.com/2gcog/rearaxle.html#decode

Have someone apply the brakes while you watch the area. Possibly spraying brake fluid under pressure from a small leak

It would be nice to know the year. Great info...thanks

Btw...I haven't added any gear oil.

That needs to happen. thanks

Brake fluid is water soluble. Gear oil is not.
Spray some water on the puddle to see how it reacts.

I didn't know that. So it acts just like metamucil.

Update, no signs of oil, on the floor this morning.