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79 Midget with rear wheel noise

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steven l

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I have a 79 Midget with 87K miles. Yesterday while tooling around I noticed a “knocking” from left rear wheel. I now see liquid on the INSIDE of the tyre. It appears to be a thin liquid, unlike grease. The car is all original, and UNrestored. Any ideas on what I should be looking for? Thanks,
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by steven l:
I have a 79 Midget with 87K miles. Yesterday while tooling around I noticed a “knocking” from left rear wheel. I now see liquid on the INSIDE of the tyre. It appears to be a thin liquid, unlike grease. The car is all original, and UNrestored. Any ideas on what I should be looking for? Thanks,
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One of two things come to mind: Shocks (hydrolic fluid) or brakes (Brake fluid). If its shocks, no biggy, they can be easily replaced or rebuilt (e.g., if they are lever-type shocks, which to be honest I'm not sure an that year Midget - maybe someone else here knows?).

If its your brakes, then you should not drive the car until you get it repaired.
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Take your wheel off and check your brakes! You could have had a brake shoe come loose (the clunking) and the liquid you are describing could be brake fluid). It could be a potentially dangerous problem and if it is brakes, you would be well advised to take it to a competent shop and have the brakes repaired. The leaking might be due to the seals in the wheel cylindar leaking. It could be the shocks, but I'd check the brakes first. Look at the level of your brake fluid in the resevoir and see if it is low...if it is, keep it topped up until you get it repaired. If it were me, and the car is that old and all original as you say, I;d go through the entire brake system just as a matter of principle.

Good Luck and keep us posted,
George
 
Thanks to all for the input! I was hoping it would be a simple find like something loose, but once I saw all the fluids leaking, I knew I needed some assistance. I broke down and had a local mechanic take a look. He says it is a bad wheel bearing; $375 to replace bearings on both left & right rear wheels.
 
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