Differential weeping or leak?

[akkando]

So before I bought the car I had a PPI done in September and the mechanic told me they didn't notice any leaks anywhere on the car and that the diff looked okay. This was the pic they took of the diff. Seems suspicious to me but I don't know about this stuff.



Today the diff looks more dry but that the fluid had traveled a bit. Don't notice anything dripping on the ground. Also there is weird white gunk in some places. Not sure if related or I just drove over something gross.



Other side of diff looks fine I think though I have pics of that too. I know that the other side is where you drain and fill it. Previous owner said for recent maintenance he had done diff fluid and he used a thicker fluid so the diff locks up faster. He also did stiffer diff bushings.

Not sure I have experienced any problems but when I got the car I noticed the car sounded like it had some rubbing when going very slow on the rear passenger side (opposite side of these pics) and it was more pronounced when making sharp turns to the right when the car is cold, so I figured it had a noisy diff. Doesn't sound like grinding more like rubbing but I don't see anything rubbing as far as the tire/wheel.


What do you think? Weeping? Leaking? Old leak that wasn't properly cleaned off? If it's weeping is this the kind of thing that needs immediate attention or is it fine if the diff fluid gets replaced regularly?

[wyatth]

If it’s not dripping, it’s a weep. Hard to know how current or fine it is, so just monitor it. I’d swap out the heavier stuff for OE fluid and dry it off, that way you know it’s full also and can monitor weep rate easily. Common area to weep from.

[SAMM3Y]

Is it sprayed over your connecting pipe and heat shielding too?

[M43S7RO]

Looks like an axle seal leak, I had one on my drivers side axle which I fixed when I swapped the subframe bushings. Agree with Wyatth in that I would probably just wipe it up, top off fluid and monitor to get a feel for how bad it is.

Here is a diy to give more context of what is leaking:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1469414

[pbonsalb]

Nothing to worry about now. Maybe when you replace some rear suspension bushings and remove the axles, pop the axle stubs out of the diff, unscrew the ears and change the seals.

[akkando]

Originally Posted by M43S7RO

Looks like an axle seal leak, I had one on my drivers side axle which I fixed when I swapped the subframe bushings. Agree with Wyatth in that I would probably just wipe it up, top off fluid and monitor to get a feel for how bad it is.

Here is a diy to give more context of what is leaking:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1469414

Okay I'll monitor it.