Hi,
I am new to the forum and have 1996 Cherokee Sport, 178,000 miles. Just got back from a longer road trip and noticed a little puddle of a light brown almost clear fluid with a pungent almost bitter odor under the driver's front wheel. The back side of tire had a small trace too. I checked the fluids, nothing low. I checked the brake lines and could not find any noticeable leaks. Is this possibly power steering related?

Thank You!

 

Sounds like brake fluid. Most of the time fluid on the inside of your tires is brake fluid. Is it on your back or front tires?

 

Was it thin, or thick? If it smelled kinda like sulfur it could be a bad axle seal. Most likely its brake fluid though.

 

Sounds like maybe your seals on the front diff might be leaking and letting diff lube drain down the axle tube.

 

Back of the front drivers tire. What would be leaking, lines are tight. Could it be coming from the calipers? Fluid is thin and slightly oily. Does not really smell like brake fluid.

 

sorry to hi jack the thread, but where is this seal at? in the diff or in the tube? Mine is leakin every once and a while on the pass side

 

Is the car still driving normal?

Just to try and rule out the simple fixes, is your anti-freeze clean? Mine was brown for a while and due to a clog used to overflow, I would spot it doing so on the wheels.

And what color windshield washer fluid do you use?

 

Coolant is clean, replaced water pump not too long ago. Wiper fluid is purple. Car seems to drive normally. What consistency is front dif fluid?

 

the front diff fluid is thicker (80w90)

 

bump

 

I am not an expert at all.
This being said, I had an issue with the power steering fluid on my 89. it would just squirt out of the cap and leave a puddle on the ground and traces all over the left inside of the engine (starting with air filter box....dripping onto the inside of the tire. The fluid was thin, somewhat clean (I didn't go all the way to smell it to see if it could be bitter though).
I checked the level when cold and it was all the way above the "Hot" mark.... I removed some to "cold" level and have not have the problem ever since....

 

I bet it's brake fluid. It's clear(unless dirty, then it would be a light brown/dirty clear) and has the most pungent smell of all the fluids in a jeep.

 

I pulled the caliper and found no signs of leaks, brake fluid reservoir has not lost any fluid. Possible front diff leak? It looks like fluid is leaking near the Ujoint, there is a plastic cover on the axle and it is a little loose. I cleaned up the area and will look for any fluid leaking - any thoughts? Thank You!

 

Ok, I am reasonably sure it is diff fluid, same color, same smell. Checked the diff, it is not low yet, but it is a very slow leak. Any suggestions on how to stop the leak?

 

best bet is to replace the axle seal...most quick fixes are only temporary....clean your brakes good if they have been contaminated...better yet replace them if they got gear oil in them