does anything in oil ever separate or settle out if oil sits for a long time?
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Additives will settle out-shake it, use it. There have been members that have used cans of oil from 25+ years ago, and it was fine. Biggest issue is plastic containers failing & leaking!
Yes. The biggest offender for me was PZ LL 15w40, lots of black dust would settle out. I think it's the moly. 
I pour all but a couple ounces then slosh the last little bit to get it into suspension.
I have oil from the "Cars" movie era, 2006, that pre-dates my eldest son. He'll be learning to drive in a Camry with some of that oil in it.
I pour all but a couple ounces then slosh the last little bit to get it into suspension.
I have oil from the "Cars" movie era, 2006, that pre-dates my eldest son. He'll be learning to drive in a Camry with some of that oil in it.
Yes it happens in as little as one year. I always shake the oil container before pouring.
One of my machinists used a paint shaker to mix up a 15 y/o bottle of cutting oil, that was about a 5 quart round bottle. He had an audience because he asked everyone if they thought is operated slow enough to mix the oil adequately. Well, he put it in the clamps and turned it on. The plastic jug crumbled into pieces and went every where. A few of us knew that would happen. A total of 6 hours cleaning up the mess.
Well everyone seems to have their own ideas on this the money hungry Oil giants will tell you probably around five years. I've ran over 7 year old oil in the Toyota and got a UOA it looked absolutely fine the add PAC looked absolutely normal. This oil has sat in the ground over a million years and still works. Come on!
Additives can settle out synthetic motor oils more easily.
See the disadvantages of synthetic motor oils in this article.
www.machinerylubrication.com
See the disadvantages of synthetic motor oils in this article.
Synthetic Oil Explained | Synthetic vs. Conventional Oil |Machinery Lubrication
Synthetic oil is a lubricant made up of artificially made chemical compounds. Read about how synthetic oil compares with conventional oil and more.
www.machinerylubrication.com
Don’t overthink it. You will likely have a leaker storing them upside down.
Just give older oil a bit of a shake before opening and pouring.
Unfortunately I have a few leakers already sitting upside down!
Don’t worry the churning of the oil while the engine is running will mix it back up for you.
The article states:Additives can settle out synthetic motor oils more easily.
See the disadvantages of synthetic motor oils in this article.
Synthetic Oil Explained | Synthetic vs. Conventional Oil |Machinery Lubrication
Synthetic oil is a lubricant made up of artificially made chemical compounds. Read about how synthetic oil compares with conventional oil and more.
- Probably the most glaring downside of synthetic oil is the cost. The price of synthetic oil is around two to four times the price of conventional oil.
Shel_B
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This has been said here before, and it's one of the most ignorant comments I've heard wrt motor oil. What was in the ground for so many years in no way resembles the oil that's put into your engine. What goes into the engine has been processed to the extreme, is composed of many parts including highly processed base stocks, some of which were never in the ground, at least in their current form, additives that never spent a moment in the earth, and many of those that did have been so highly modified Mother Nature would never recognize them.
What you're suggesting is akin to giving your betrothed an engagement ring with a lump of coal in the setting and saying it's just like a diamond.
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It isn't even new.
We had a smarter discussion about this question some months ago
where I came to the conclusion to not shake older bottles and jugs.
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It isn't even new.
We had a smarter discussion about this question some months ago
where I came to the conclusion to not shake older bottles and jugs.
.
I did an oil change earlier today with some Pennzoil Platinum SN that I picked up on clearance a few years ago when SN plus came out, and did a quick shake of the unopened jug before pouring in, and for the some reason got curious and looked in the bottom of empty jug when done and noticed a thin layer of something dark, almost black looking.
. Other bottles , repeat process . 