[Bonster]

I just got out from under my car double checking my Element's first Local Shop oil change. Well, I found something weird. Orientation: I'm on my back, feet out the front of the element, head toward the rear. I look up next to the filter & there is a glob of lubricant, sort of like thin axel grease. That's the first picture. It was about a large gumball sized glob had some dirt mixed in but it was packed into a cavity & over a liquid gasket...which made me wonder if it was oozing out or flung there. I cleaned it away to see & I can't tell. The gasket right under the glob is not loose but doesn't feel rigid like nearby areas.

When I look toward the passenger wheel, up on the chassis is what looks like a blow out of libricant...that's the second picture. I had seen a small glob on that hose (at that time the vantage point was looking up from under side of car) prior to taking a 1,000 mile trip 2 weeks ago. I thought it was just a bit dropped during a service. I don't know how long this has been there because I don't think I crawled under at that time to see this area (I was installing side steps). But as you can see from the picture, that lube has a coat of road dirt on it now. That dirt coat couldn't have happened on the way home from the shop.

I don't see or feel anything on the boot that I assume is the drive axel. But there is some on the top lip of the oil pan direct line down from the main glob.

I hope I explained this well enough...ask me for more info if necessary. I did search threads but couldn't find anything to post this in.

Any of you out there have an idea what this is, where it's coming from before I go back to the shop on Monday?

Thanks!

 

[cathlab]

hmmmmm

I wonder if you possibly ran over something.A small tube of lube could squish and hit the spots?

Shot in the dark....
Sure looks like something that would come from a broken boot on the axle.

 

[psschmied]

Since there are no mechanical symptoms to point to your vehicle being the origin of the grease, if it were me, I'd thoroughly clean off the entire area using engine degreaser and perhaps carwash detergent at moderate pressure, then inspect the area at weekly intervals to see if it recurred.

 

[in2steam]

I agree with psschmied except I would not psi wash it, if there is a leak you don't want to force water in at 1200 psi+. More then likely its a careless lube tech, may have placed a rag on the a-arm or something. The only things that have that much grease are your CV axles, and maybe the brake calipers. The brakes could have caused the spread out pattern along with the tire and axles. But its hard to say for certain, smell helps a lot in these particular cases.

Chris

 

[poochar]

the boot.... (for sure)

Our '06 had that..... too!
Was the boot leaking. Dealer replaced the boot under
warranty (went away)

 

[MikeQBF]

I agree with leaking boot. The boots are the one of the few places on the E with grease anywhere near this consistency, and definitely the only location(s) with enough of it to accumulate like this.

 

[Island E]

Looks similar to what my Civic looked like when the CV boot on the passenger side blew out

 

[lizzurd]

When i see the pictures i was thinking CV boot. It actually surprises me that you had one leak. Honda managed to get their s**t together in the last fewyears when it comes to boots. We may replace one or two a month now instead of the 50 or so a week we used to replace.

 

[Bonster]

Leaning toward an old CV leak

I also thought it was probably CV joint grease except the boot is completely clean, no leakage, holes, etc.

I think that is where this grease came from though. I'm the 2nd owner (bought at 15,000 now has 16,000) and may not have the complete maintenance history as I purchased this from an estate...so could not question the owner! There is something around the boot that, I swear, makes me think of lock-tite, it is NOT grease but is hard, like maybe this leaked & the large clamp removed & that end of the boot "sealed" then reclamped. I need to break down & call the original dealer and get their records for this car--needed to do it anyway for change of ownership--I just haven't had much luck with dealer care over the years. I prefer my local shop except for warranty issues, but I have a year left of original warranty.

Well, I'm going to clean it off & see if anything reappears. The grease is very soft and wipes away easily.

Thanks for the input & any additional is welcome!

 

[Bonster]

I called the original dealer today & got the service records for my car over the phone. I had been hesitant to alert the dealer to the fact that I didn't have copies. However, I just explained that the original owner was deceased and I didn't "currently" have the records in hand & just needed to know what had been done. The service guy was great.

It turns out the inner CV boot was leaking and replaced at 2,239 miles. Which explains why the boot was dirty but with no grease and the lube that sprayed out on the chassis, etc. was under a coating of road dirt. So everyone that said CV boot -- give yourselves a pat on the back -- though I really did enjoy the suggestion that maybe I had run over a tube of something. :lol: I kept thinking of toothpaste! It kept me smiling while I was underneath wiping off lubricant.

I also found that TEd's oil was changed at 2,050, 5,050, 8,392, & 12,283 in November 08. The original owner brought in his own oil so I don't know what he used, but my shop just changed it at 16,050 with Mobil 1 & a K&N filter.

I also wonder if the mechanics at the 2,050 oil change may have damaged the boot getting the filter off for the first time. I any case, my mind is much relieved that The Case of the Mystery Lubricant is solved! Thanks to all you Dr. Watsons out there!