So I was doing an oil change last night and was giving the underneath a look over and noticed some oil / grease around I think the lower control arm rear bushing. 02 WRX with 106K miles. Here is a picture. The dark around the bushing and on the subframe is what i am talking about. The other side looked OK and I didn't see anything above dripping onto it. Any thoughts? Cause for concern? I also noticed around the rear of the transmission (I am assuming around the seal to the drive shaft) a bit of a leak. Tranny fluid level was fine - so a very small leak. Any advice?
Are you showing any fluids on the surface that you park on? You could slide some cardboard under your car in the key areas when you park it for the night and see if you're dripping anything. You'll be able to identify where it is coming from easier then. Is it possible that you spilled oil on your last change? You mention grease, but it should be fairly easy to differentiate between the two. What's it look like on your fingers?
I am pretty anal about the garage floor. There is nothing on it. I had the thought about spillage but there is nothing above it that I would have spilled from. I did feel it. Doesn't feel like motor oil - but it does have a lot of road grime in it that makes it hard to tell. I didn't think that bushing back there should have oil / grease coming out of it. My thoughts now are to clean it up and monitor.
That does look to be an oil slick in my eyes. Odd that its on the passenger side as it would be most likely be the driver side showing oil if you spilled any. The under tray could have something to do with that or possible small leak at the turbo. If you can wiggle your fingers under the bottom of the chra on the turbo and see if you come up with any residue, do the same for the oil drain hose from the turbo.
I'd spray it down with brake cleaner to clean it up. See if it comes back again. It maybe just residual.
Thanks for the replys. I will clean it up. I will check the turbo a little closer. Since I did my DP, I think I can get the heat shield off easily now (without taking the IC off).
I think it is too far back for that - unless it is running down something towards the back of the car. I have a friend with a lift - guess I can put it up on that and have a look.