So I pulled off my drum to adjust my brakes and this is what I found. 

 

Does this look like a hub seal or wheel cylinder?  Please say wheel cylinder... I already have new oversized ones to go in.

 

 

Smell will tell.  

So normally I find gear oil to be the most nauseating smell on earth, and I didn't notice any particular familiar odor with this (does synthetic gear oil reek too). Though I didn't smell it real close,before buttoning it back up. Would it smell noticeably just being near it at handling distance. I know my brake reservoir is at the add level, but it doesn't seem like that would be enough fluid to do all of this.

Edited June 17, 201510 yr by Nates1999

All gear lubes smell the same either petroleum or synthetics.

 

Yes that a hub seal going bad and will need to be changed. I just got done doing a front seal on a 1984 Kenworth Water Tender for the fire dept. You'll be surprised how little oil is really needed to make a huge mess of the brakes and hardware.

How often are you filling the brake fluid?  Those wheel cylinders are easy and cheap to change, I just did mine of both sides. 

That looks like oil/grease and smell will tell.  Stick your finger in it and see what it feels like. Brake fluid is water soluble and washes right off.

Well... It turned out to be an axle seal. I was short on time and nobody had the right axle nut socket in stock, so I had a local shop do the job and the brakes.... Until they couldn't.

Turns out they couldn't get the nut off the threads. Somehow it got stuck at the end, and they didn't want to risk ruining the threads. Now I've got to get it to our local high end differential shop (who values their time quite highly) and pray they get it sorted out.

That's sucks...

Turned out that the specialty shop was not going to be able to see me for 3 weeks, and he was squeezing me in even at that timeline.  Ultimately, a couple of the more solid mechanics in town (along with the specialty guy) brainstormed until they managed to get me into a shop they all felt would be able to do it.  That shop was able to get it sorted out (don't actually know what they did as the owner was gone when I picked up), but they took care of it all, along with new brakes for not nearly what they could have charged.  Whew.