Pinion Flange Seal FYI
 

My '05 GT 5-Speed has been doing just fine. However, haven't been driving it much due to one thing or another. Only put about 4.4k miles on it in 2011 and 1.2k of that was a trip to Florida and back in November.

Anyway, Pinion seal leaked, found a puddle on the garage floor after returning from a Christmas trip to California. Thought it was water at first, so clean, so clear, so thin, but when my foot got in it, so slippery also!

Dealer had no reason why, but did ask if I drive it much.

So, just a "FYI"

Sorry to hear about your leak. Try posting it in the 4.6 Tech Discussions.

Rear axle fluid isn't thin or clear/clean looking. And it smells too. Maybe something else?

You'd have rear end fluid over the housing, dripping from the bottom of the pumpkin, if its rear end fluid.
And stock pinion seal failures are common.

I reposted in the V-8 section. Targeting error on this post. "TX" post about common is both good and bad to hear. Don't want to do it again myself. "Mr. Ugly" I was surprised also, but, no, the fliud in the rear end after 54k miles certainly looked like water, very clear, very thin, no odor like the old gear oil appartently you and i are familiar with. I've already chaged out my 5-Spd's fluids twice, its not gear oil either! Its ATF! I used Amsoil last time. I also put a 10% mix of "Tufoil" in there, I've been using it for better than 15 years in my engines. In this case, since the stuff is so THICK out of the bottle, I put it in an interim container as I work the ATF from bottle, to interim into Trans its all gone.

sounds like muffler juice to me. if it had no smell, was thin and clear, it was not any fluids from anything mechanical. probably condensation dripping from the mufflers or a joint in the exhaust piping..

Sounds about right.

My GTA mufflers actually have small drain holes near the seam between the end caps and the muffler body.