Possible "grease like" substance on rear wheels.

I have a early 2005 Jetta. On my rear wheels I have a black substance on the outside of the rims. I know what brake dust looks and feels like, powdery and dry, but this stuff has somewhat of a greasy feel to it. The strange thing is the substance doesn't appear on the inside of the wheel.

The brake fluid is not low.
The tires were recently rotated at Firestone and no mention was made of it.
There are no strange noises coming from the rear axle.
This appears to coincide with new tires I had installed. (First rotation just done at 5000 miles).

Does this indicate upcoming rear wheel bearing failure?
Car has 164k on it and I've owned it since 2007 and never had to put rear bearings on it or have see this substance before on the wheels.

Thanks.

Sounds like that Tire Shine stuff was used. If the bearing seals failed, you would hear lots of grinding while driving.

Tire tech's may have been sloppy with the mounting lube. Seems like you would have noticed that sooner, though.

I thought it might have something to do with the tires themselves but before the rotation only the rears had this substance on them and after the rotation only the rears have the substance again.

So ckean it off and see if it comes back.

drucifer said:

So ckean it off and see if it comes back.

Click to expand...

If it didn't come back I wouldn't be asking this question.

Maybe the black bead sealer?

Put some of it on your tongue.....roll it around in your mouth. Does it taste like petroleum or rubber? Do a second dose just to make sure you know...…...get back with the verdict.