Thinking I had a leaking front caliper I went this morning to take the wheel off, moved the hydraulic jack under ther jacking point and . . . "oh crap, what's this fluid all over?" I didn't even bother taking the wheel off. I had mistaken the problem for a caliper b/c I saw fluid on the inside rim of the wheel, leaking on the floor. That fluid seems to be coming from somewhere around the motor, it is running along the suspension arm and then dripping on the inside of the wheel and then to the floor. And it is certainly not motor oil - it is transmission fluid.
What is this leak likely to be? Axle seal failure, or something else? I have the feeling it's going to be expensive.

 

Its probably a trany seal by the axle. I have changed many cv boots n stuff and it isnt a hard job to pop the axle out and replace the seal.

 

OK... so if it's that seal, no need to remove the transmission then?

 

no. If it is on you rim, it is dripping down the A-arm or the axle itself. Its just a seal. I wouldnt worry to much.You gota fix it soon or it will F-up your trany.

 

It's just a damaged seal IF the inside end of the axle has no wiggle where it enters the tranny/diff. If there is play, the problem is not the seal, but worn bearings inside the diff. Get it fixed ASAP or just source another tranny. Since you have a GLE listed, I assume it's an auto - fortunately they are very common.

Dave

 

I just came back from my local garage, they have a couple of good lifts down there and I couldn't really see clearly using just the trolley jack.
So up it went into the air and to my horror, I could see that the axles seem fine, and everywhere around the tranny is clean and dry.
It's my horrible old problem again by the look of it, a major engine oil leak from the TC cover. I just paid a **** load of money 3 months ago to fix it, and now it's back.
Comment from the garage mech: "Oh we had an i30 in just last week looking the same"
Yep, the oil is dribbling along the A-arm and onto the inner wheel rim, and engine oil dribbling onto the rim is the last thing I want, safety-wise. Bummer.

 

Same thing happened to me about two months ago. Had it fixed, my tranny still isn't what it used to be. Hopefully a 5-spd swap will take care of that problem