I don't know for how long, but it was definitely dry when I checked. The washer looked to be off center and possibly it leaked out slowly (never noticed spots or drips). I filled it, added some dye, put a new gasket, and so far no leaking.

The shifting is OK, but it's hard to tell with the Arctic temps we're having. It's covered under warr. for 34k more mi. so we'll see what happens.