I have a 05 xc90 t6 that has a red fluid leaking on the front wheel. It appears to be coming out of the cv boot. I have replaced the struts and removed the caliper to make sure its not coming from either of those 2 places. I can't figure why there is fluid in the cv boot, i would expect that there would be grease in there. Looks like either transmission or power steering fluid but I can't figure out why it is there. Everything above the CV boot is dry.

 

could it be a transmission fluid seeping along the halfshaft?

 

Definitely not coming down the half shaft, or dripping from above. Its totally dry on the half shaft and I set up a barrier to make sure it wasn't coming from above. I assume the half shafts don't have fluid in them? They are not hollow? The fluid appears to be coming out of the cv boots. Is it possible to loosen the clamps on the boots and reuse them?

 

Its coming from the axle itself. remove the axle bolt and fluid should come out ( make sure you have a drain under it ) There seems to be a plug that comes apart inside the axle and will allow trans fluid to mix in the cv boot. Replace the axle and repalced the trans filter, then flush the trans fluid.

 

So is there any chance that this solves the mystery of why the transmissions go out on these things so often? If the fluid is getting low that could cause problems. From a start the transmission slips and then kind of slams into gear. No messages from the car yet, but I expect it might be coming soon.