89 All-Trac wagon - rear axel question

[RZvan]

Hello everyone -

New to this forum and new to Toyotas.

On a whim bought a 1989 Toyota Corolla SR5 All-Trac wagon awhile back. It has 183,000 miles and runs great - just a little rough around the edges from 16 years of wear and tear.

The only thing I can see that might be cause for concern is the rear axel - it looks like it has some grimy looking grease on it. Any ideas what this might be? Serious problem? Easy to fix? Something I don't need to worry about?

No noise coming from the rear end or any strange sounds, and the car seems to drive fine.

Any info would be welcome.

Thanks

[REN69]

sounds like the axle boot is torn and the grease inside is just leaking out.. if this didn't start too long ago, I would just get the boot replaced and the axle regreased.. if this is been there for a while, chances are the axle might be dried out of grease and could be needing replacement. Usually rear axles won't give you the signs that front ones do.. since they don't steer side to side like the front axles. Get it checked anyways just to be safe.