Tranny and rear end storage question

[kllrbee]

Hey all,
So my car wont be done for at least a year. In the meantime I store the engine, tranny, and axle in the garage.

I oil the cylinder walls and turn over the engine by hand every other week, but how should I store the tranny and axle?

Tranny has fluid in it, but can I just let it sit like that for a year? Cant really "turn it over" like the engine.
The axle is dry. Should I add fluid or should I just let it sit as is?

Sorry, kinda stupid questions, but what the heck....lol

Thanks

 

[Jonnyuma]

My unprofessional opinion is that the trans will be fine with or without fluid in it. With no heat to foul it or make varnish deposits the fluid shouldn't break down in a years time. I also think it would be fine dry, as well as easier to handle and install.
I would douche the rear gears with a non-silicone spray lube or even motor oil. I'm assuming the main objectives are to keep rust away and prevent seal shrinkage.
Maybe an air tight plastic bag around each piece and suck the air out with a shop vacation...Seal-A-Meal...in the garage!
Or, you could bring em inside for the winter, have Aunt Edna sit on the bellhousing at Thanksgiving, she won't mind.

 

[Cranky]

How dry is your garage? I have a Dana 60 that's been hanging from the rafters since 1986 and I turn the yoke from time to time and it still turns ok.....

 

[kllrbee]

Thanks guys!
My garage is very dry, its attached and below my master bedroom. Just another cookie cutter, run of the mill subdivision type houses....lol.
I just want to make sure everything will be good to go when the car is ready for reassembly and I feel the best way to do that is by keeping up with everything while its laying around the garage.
Thanks again.

 

[Meep-Meep]

How dry is your garage? I have a Dana 60 that's been hanging from the rafters since 1986 and I turn the yoke from time to time and it still turns ok.....

Those are some good rafters!

I agree, turning the yoke to dip the ring gear and carrier in oil from time to time is good. Or you can spray it with LPS 3 or some similar sticky oil. Sealed up and dry is the way to go!

 

[ilm65]

Took me 5 years from time of Dana 60's rebuild to pulling the car out of the garage for the first time--(you know how it is, nights and weekends when Mama isn't commiting us to social get-togethers). Little did I know, my brand new clutches rusted and for the life of me, wouldn't release and thus behaved like a locker. After chirping around corners for the last 1-1/2 years, I put in a new set of clutches and voila--my car has manners. Keep yours lubed and rotate the pinion every month during storage.

 

[Cranky]

Those are some good rafters!

I agree, turning the yoke to dip the ring gear and carrier in oil from time to time is good. Or you can spray it with LPS 3 or some similar sticky oil. Sealed up and dry is the way to go!

Yup...my dad and I built it in 84 and we hand built the truss roof from 2x6's....

 

[Big Jim]

My .02--the only dumb question is the one you don't ask and then hurt parts- haven't we all asked a question and had the answer come to us before we finished the sentence?