How long does diff lube last?

[Zedmaster]

Question, I just dug my Team Car out of storage. The Stealth was last lubed when it was built in 1993 or 1994. I believe I stopped running it in 1996 or 1997. My intuition tells me I should tear down and relube the tranny, but you never know. The diff on my real Ford Ranger probably hasn't been lubed since 1998 and it's running fine after all... Course that lube is a very different product. So my question is how long the lube lasts in storage. Also when you're running one, is there a number of runs after which you should generally relube the tranny?

Thanks,

Matt

[skunk.werkz]

I'm pretty certain that the way stealth transmissions operate is there are teflon/graphite impregnated gears which do NOT require any lube. If you want to rebuild, its always a good idea but you should only rebuild your diffs and use the intended clear "stealth" diff lube from AE. No grease should be applied to the idler, top shaft, or to the outside of the diff gear.

[Zedmaster]

Thank you for the advice... I think you're quite right. I just took apart the tranny to have a look (why I didn't think of that before posting...) and it's bone dry in there. There was a little bit of ancient dried up lube of some sort in the diff, and the idler and top shaft look like they never had any lube at all... Definitely glad I didn't put any grease in there! To answer my own question, however long the stealth lube does last, it definitely does NOT last 18 years! Thank God I wasn't running it that whole time or that diff would be disintegrated!