Why grease leaking onto my wheel?

[The Radium King]

geez. it's been weeks since i've been called a conspiracy theorist. how depressing. well, you're obviously smarter than the rest of us, so i'll add my comments for the rest of the unwashed masses as you already know the answer you want to hear and appear to want to yell down anyone who tells you otherwise.

i've never seen a porsche axle rust like that so quickly. a search of this forum shows multiple threads on axles going bad, especially on the s due to the longer transmission and bigger offset between transmission flange and wheel carrier. when faced with the failure, most folks (not the smart ones though, apparently) avoid the $900 per axle cost when there are less expensive fixes available.

first, repair the existing axle. typically the axle doesn't go bad, just one of the cv boots tear and if left open long enough (by fools who don't perform proper maintenance on their car) grit can get in and degrade the cv (constant velocity joint, but of course you know that). there are two, and one is more repairable than the other.

if your current axle isn't repairable (and typically a torn boot is just a regrease and replace the boot situation, not an $1800 replacement situation) then buy a used axle off ebay or whereever and rebuild it. again, much cheaper than $900 per side.

finally, there are the 'jobber' axles. $100 per side, but pure garbage. pure garbage. they rust right away, they leak grease, they don't have the same articulation as the oem units. made of unamerican chinese steel.

so, perhaps your indy did buy two $900 axles, and is warrantying them every time you come back, and they are rusting immediately upon installation. or perhaps your indy bought some cheap jobber axles, or used axles, and is trying to repair them every time you bring them back. note that the cv that is leaking in your case is sealed; the only place grease should/could be coming from is the vent, however it is on the other side of the wheel carrier at the end of the axle and you would see grease behind the centre cap. looking at the pics, it looks like the dust cap is coming off the cv (it's at a bit of an angle). how unfortunate that porsche sent your honest indy THREE axles with bad dust caps.

but you knew all that, right?

[78F350]

Why grease leaking onto my wheel?

100percent: Forget the price, the shop, how many times it was replaced, who is at fault, and your personal feelings. That looks like a defective axle and not one built to Porsche OEM standard. Take your car to a dealership. Have it replaced correctly and it will not leak grease.

For future readers: This grease looks like it is leaking from the crimp seal rather than the boot. If it is like that new, it was either made from improper materials or poorly crimped. You can buy a new axle for about 1/10th the price of a Porsche axle, but it will likely have problems exactly like the one displayed by the OP.
A 'good' axle will wear out at the rubber boot. The boot will eventually crack and leak grease. Like TRK said, replace the boot in a timely manner and the axle will be fine. The other 'normal' place for grease to leak is from the clamps after the boot has been replaced. -From too much grease, clamps placed improperly, or the wrong grease being used.




...that's enough Forum time for today, I have cars to work on.

Boxster driving is fun.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

geez. it's been weeks since i've been called a conspiracy theorist. how depressing. well, you're obviously smarter than the rest of us, so i'll add my comments for the rest of the unwashed masses as you already know the answer you want to hear and appear to want to yell down anyone who tells you otherwise.

i've never seen a porsche axle rust like that so quickly. a search of this forum shows multiple threads on axles going bad, especially on the s due to the longer transmission and bigger offset between transmission flange and wheel carrier. when faced with the failure, most folks (not the smart ones though, apparently) avoid the $900 per axle cost when there are less expensive fixes available.

first, repair the existing axle. typically the axle doesn't go bad, just one of the cv boots tear and if left open long enough (by fools who don't perform proper maintenance on their car) grit can get in and degrade the cv (constant velocity joint, but of course you know that). there are two, and one is more repairable than the other.

if your current axle isn't repairable (and typically a torn boot is just a regrease and replace the boot situation, not an $1800 replacement situation) then buy a used axle off ebay or whereever and rebuild it. again, much cheaper than $900 per side.

finally, there are the 'jobber' axles. $100 per side, but pure garbage. pure garbage. they rust right away, they leak grease, they don't have the same articulation as the oem units. made of unamerican chinese steel.

so, perhaps your indy did buy two $900 axles, and is warrantying them every time you come back, and they are rusting immediately upon installation. or perhaps your indy bought some cheap jobber axles, or used axles, and is trying to repair them every time you bring them back. note that the cv that is leaking in your case is sealed; the only place grease should/could be coming from is the vent, however it is on the other side of the wheel carrier at the end of the axle and you would see grease behind the centre cap. looking at the pics, it looks like the dust cap is coming off the cv (it's at a bit of an angle). how unfortunate that porsche sent your honest indy THREE axles with bad dust caps.

but you knew all that, right?

I have to disagree a bit.

First of all a lot of "German" parts are actually made in China. Just because it is made in China does not mean it is a cheap POS. A lot depends on the quality of the actual manufacturer. Some are world class and some, well they are good for N Korea

Price alone does not setermone the quality. I have 2 aftermarket "jobber" axles on my car hat have many track weekends on them without any problens. Are all of thenm good, hell no. My indy mechanic vets all the parts and he is basicially a race shop

YMMV

Boxster driving is fun.