[ChevyGuy]

Yeah, I think it's falling there from the engine and not from the axle at all.

 

[ChevyGuy]

In my experience, (which may not apply to a newer car like the Cruze), is the CV lubricant is a grease, not a oil. If the CV boot failed, you'd be seeing bits of grease flung about. That looks more liquidy. And in order to get the smell, it's got to hit the exhaust system - or at least something hot. So, I'm thinking this is either a red herring, or it's coming from somewhere else.

It really doesn't take much, so the fact your coolant and oil levels appear to be fine doesn't mean anything.

Just for fun, check out the rest of the exhaust system. This might be nothing more than a stray plastic shopping bag that got caught on your exhaust.

 

[ChevyGuy]

So you are saying even tho my oil level seems fine that I could still be leaking oil but spraying only when under pressure? Possible?

I'm not sure about oil, but as a veteran of many a coolant leak, they can be really hard to find. It has to be at just the right temperature and pressure before they go. You'd be surprised how big a mess a few thimble full of oil can make. And you'd never see that on the dip stick.

But please remind me, has this car had transmission work done? My fear would be that this is transmission oil and you've got no dipstick for that.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Only thing it has had was a engine replacement.

I wonder what the process is for that. Can the engine be pulled alone, or is the engine & translate pulled as a unit and then separated?

 

[ChevyGuy]

No. Not powertrain. If you have an extended warranty, that's more fuzzy.

You might look into any workmanship warranty for the engine replacement, since that's what we're thinking might have caused it.

 

[ChevyGuy]

I would speak w/ the service manager prior too taking it in on a appointment & see if this is something that could be done on there part.

Yes. If it comes to that, I'd check to see if the work they did might have had something to do with it. If you do find it's transmission oil, then I'd change the oil since it's hard to check it's level.

But since you're not able to duplicate it, I'm not sure what to suggest. You might try a uphill run to put the drive train under stress.

 

[ChevyGuy]

however it didn't seem sticky so I just took my water hose & some paper towels & it cleaned up quite well & there didn't seem to be any 'staining' left behind so that was a plus far as being able to eye for any further leaks.

Which suggests it's recent stuff. Worrying. But not much else you can do at this point.