Motor Oil Shelf Life

[JC]

Hello, I'm wondering if motor oil has a known shelf life. I "discovered"
a forgotten container of Castrol GTX in my mom's garage. It's likely
almost 6 years old. Any harm in putting it to good use?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Rick Courtright]

almost 6 years old. Any harm in putting it to good use?

The API "S" designation may be out of date for some of your newer
vehicles, but other than that, it should be good. There might be a small
amount of residue at the bottom of the bottle, too. Got a lawnmower that
needs an oil change? Or a chainsaw needing some cheap bar and chain oil?
That's where I use my old and odd bottles...

Rick

 

[y_p_w]

JC wrote:




The API "S" designation may be out of date for some of your newer
vehicles, but other than that, it should be good. There might be a small
amount of residue at the bottom of the bottle, too. Got a lawnmower that
needs an oil change? Or a chainsaw needing some cheap bar and chain oil?
That's where I use my old and odd bottles...

Sure. When I open a case or otherwise buy bottles w/o a case, I'll
tighten up the cap to try to get a tigher seal. I guess one potential
problem is a little bit of moisture getting in there (not hermetically
sealed), but I wouldn't worry too much about it in a full bottle.

I just changed my oil today, and I used a 5 quart jug of Mobil 1 5W-30
The jug used a break-apart cap (I'd hesistate to call it "tamper
resistant") and a foil/plastic seal. I suppose oil in a hermetically
sealed bottle like that should have an indefinite shelf life. Most
of the large 4-6 quart jugs come with airtight seals.

 

[Danny Russell]

Hello, I'm wondering if motor oil has a known shelf life. I "discovered"
a forgotten container of Castrol GTX in my mom's garage. It's likely
almost 6 years old. Any harm in putting it to good use?

As others have mentioned, keep the bottles tightly closed. Also, the oil's properties will be left
much more intact if it is stored in a stable temperature environment. Repeated heating and cooling
between day and night as well as seasonal temperature shifts are not good for the oil. Essentially,
oil stored in an outdoor garage or shed will break down faster than oil stored in a fruit cellar.
-Danny

 

[y_p_w]

As others have mentioned, keep the bottles tightly closed. Also, the oil's properties will be left
much more intact if it is stored in a stable temperature environment. Repeated heating and cooling
between day and night as well as seasonal temperature shifts are not good for the oil. Essentially,
oil stored in an outdoor garage or shed will break down faster than oil stored in a fruit cellar.
-Danny

I don't know about breaking down per se. The oil itself should be
fairly stable. I once called Mobil's 800 # to ask about the shelf
life of Mobil 1, and was told that the bottle would probably break
down before the oil was unusable.

Now hot and cold cycles might cause condensation of water vapor in
the bottle. I try not to keep an opened bottle for more than six
months. I've heard discussions of people buying drums of assorted
fluids, and the consensus is usually that they have to be used
quickly before water condensation becomes an issue. It's probably
not an issue for a shop doing 20-50 oil changes a day.

 

[Juan Otero]

Talking about oil, which one is better? regular or synthetic? I drive a 2003
WRX.

 

[Gilles Gour]

There are recurrent discussions about this on every make of car's
bulletin boards.
The bottom line answer is SYSTHETIC. Especially for a performance car.
Synth resiste breakdown by heat much better than regular oil.It has all
sorts of other advantages, the only drawback being price.
My 2 cents.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Talking about oil, which one is better? regular or synthetic? I drive a 2003

You can do an archive search on ANY automotive forum, including this
one, and find opinion is split right down the middle. Both sides have
their points. Neither is 100% right.

But if we MUST rehash things, let's at least concentrate on an important
issue:

Ginger or Mary Ann?

Rick

 

[P T]

Ginger