i hadnt realize this has happened to others , but i found fluid leaking on my passenger side rear axle so i took it to my local tire shop, and low and behold it was a cracked axle housing , where the shock mount is attached. my buddy and i welded the shount mount to the axle where the crack was . we removed the u bolt after jacking the vehicle up to take off the pressure , and cleaned it up with a wire brush, added the weld and put it back togther.
it looked to me like the weld had never gotten completed fro mthe factory, or was a real bad welder . my tire shop said they hadnt ever seen that happen before , so i never made a big deal out of it . have alot of other people encountered this ?
i guess ill have to take a look at the drivers side now too , i probably should have done that while i was under there doing the other side.

erik b of oregon