Castrol 0w30 or Shell 5w40 any good?

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My neighbor passed away about 4 months ago from a stroke. He was a guy who always had BMW's or Mercedes Benz cars as long as I have known him (15 years). His wife gave his cars to family members and his tools to his son (who will probably ruin them). But she called me and asked me if I wanted his oil he had in the basement of their home because the kids didn't want it. So I went to look and there is a box of Mobil1 0w40 and seven boxes of Castrol 0w30 and three boxes of Shell 5w40. All in all there is about 130 dusty quarts of oil that has been down there several years at least. It took me an hour and a half just to carry it all over to my house.

I was wondering of I can run this stuff in my Toyotas and Honda or if I should just give it to the guy across the street who has a BMW? Or should I just send it to the recycle center?
 
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Or should I just send it to the recycle center?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Those are some of the best long drain oils out there.

Not oils i would use in a Honda or Toyota however, well I might if it were free.
 
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wow...this is what happens when an oil hoarder passes away.

I wouldn't use it in your car if it doesn't spec that weight, but it's all great oil. The Castrol could be the long-lost green German Castrol if it's really old. Whatever you do, don't recycle it!

If your neighbor changes his own oil in his Bimmer, you could give him some. You could also "sell" it to someone on this forum, who could make a small donation to the deceased' favorite charity. Just a thought. You're sitting on a lot of $$ worth of oil there.
 
It sounds like your neighbor was a BITOG member: you've got pretty much the cream of the crop for engine oil on your hands - they're all top-shelf products.

Why can't you just use them yourself? It might be thicker than your engine calls for, but it will work fine in most cars just the same.

The other neighbor with the BMW could certainly use them, but there's enough oil there for 9 years of twice-a-year changes on most BMW models, so it's a bit over the top.

I'm sure you'll get some folks on this board willing to take it off your hands. Perhaps you could sell it off and send the proceeds to a heart-and-stroke charity.
 
They are worth say up to $5 a quart so $650 total.

I would say sell them on Ebay, donate the money to a charity that befits the memory of your neighbour and take a tax deduction, and buy yourself the oil that is spec'd for your car.

That way, the oil gets used in the right applications, a charity benefits and you benefit.
 
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I see no reason not to run the 0w40 in the Toyota and Honda, in other parts of the world without CAFE even cold climates 0w40 is spec for many of these engines.
It runs great in an 05 Honda 3.5 ivtec and Toyota Solara 3.0 in N.E. winters with no problems whatsoever.
It will NOT cause VVT issues as some claim as the reson not to use it.

The Castrol and shell are fine for use in summer temps also.
All small engines e.g snowblower, garden tractors, lawn mowers etc love all the oils you mention.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Wow, was this guy a BITOGer?


I don't really know the bottles of castrol are made in germany and I opened one of them but I think the oil has gone bad because it has turned a dark green color. Would that be from water getting in the oil? Also, the Shell oil is hellix brand in black bottles. I asked my neighbor and all he wanted was the Mobil1 0w40 so I gave him that box.
 
Originally Posted By: rjacket
They are worth say up to $5 a quart so $650 total.

I would say sell them on Ebay, donate the money to a charity that befits the memory of your neighbour and take a tax deduction, and buy yourself the oil that is spec'd for your car.

That way, the oil gets used in the right applications, a charity benefits and you benefit.


Nice thought but believe me she doesn't need the money. He had 3 of those Mercedes AMG models which were very pricey. Quite a collection.
 
Originally Posted By: Doog

I don't really know the bottles of castrol are made in germany and I opened one of them but I think the oil has gone bad because it has turned a dark green color.


did you stumble across that cup they were looking for in the Indiana Jones movies while you were in the basement?

It's supposed to be that color, or at least it used to be.
 
you sir, scored what some believe is the magic elixer, or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

3.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
I don't really know the bottles of castrol are made in germany and I opened one of them but I think the oil has gone bad because it has turned a dark green color.

Now I'm convinced. This guy must have been a BITOG member. He was holding onto green GC like people hold onto old baseball cards.
 
Originally Posted By: hooligan24
you sir, scored what some believe is the magic elixer, or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

3.jpg


That is exactly what it looks like. Tomorrow I am going to call a BMW/VW garage and see if they will trade me for some 5w20 I can use in my cars.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
I see no reason not to run the 0w40 in the Toyota and Honda, in other parts of the world without CAFE even cold climates 0w40 is spec for many of these engines.


Absolutely. If it were me and they weren't under warranty, I wouldn't hesitate. Free GC and M1 0w-40? He could start a bidding war here.
wink.gif
 
He wouldn't happen to have left any other old things laying around, would he? Such as a vintage Mercedes Gullwing?
 
Well I called a nearby independent BMW/VW mechanics shop I know of and you guys are right. The owner is going to swap me Mobil1 5w20 for every quart of both oils. So, I will be all set for a long time. Thanks to everyone for the replies.
 
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