oil/lube in front driver's side wheel well

[sarge1]

Sigh,

I noticed today that I have a considerable amount of what appears to be oil that looks to have sprayed from my front driver's side wheel somewhere around the drum and has coated everything around it to varying degrees. I had a similar issue with the rear passenger side a while back but I can't remember what the issue turned out to be.

I looked through the trouble shooting section in the -20 but didn't see anything that I thought matched up with my issue. Any ideas on what it probably is?

My initial thought is wheel bearings but I'm not half as up on the mechanics of things as a lot of you guys.

I was in my nice work clothes when I got home so I couldn't really stick my head in above the tire to see if I could see the source and there was enough oil around that I'm sure without a lot of scrubbing it may be impossible for me to see where it's coming from.

It definately seems to be eminating from the wheel area, as I can see it streaked down the inner sidewall of the tire from the rotating force as it rolls down the road.

 

[scrambled]

I have this same leak on my excursion. The seals in the front axle inside the carrier are needing to be replaced. The fluid leaves the carrier, goes down the axle tube, and gets blown all over your tire and wheel well. Check it out to see if the oil smells like gear oil.

Travis