Does open motor oil expire?

[jayno20]

LOL 1984, thats as old as me! i dont know that I would have done that... I guess that answers my question pretty well then.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

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It's also funny that oil poured into an engine and subject to he11ish temperatures over an OCI varying from three months to over a year, and assaulted with blowby moisture and partially burned fuel contamination, manages to survive, yet resealed oil stored at human-tolerant ambient temperatures is destined to "spoil" in three months because some unidentified moron who probably couldn't tell rotten walnuts from rutabagas says so. What an amazing world we live in.

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Amen, RayH, Amen!

 

[Drivebelt]

There was a brief write up online of a Petro-canada field test of a Group II turbine oil where after 4 years of what was considered severe service conditions -- the oil was still going strong …

quote:

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Development and Testing of an Anti-wear Gas Turbine Lubricant ... pdf

The key to superior oil is property retention and this turbine oil has shown no significant oxidative or thermal degradation, additive depletion, or change in other physical and chemical properties. The RPVOT performance, Total Acid Number (TAN), and additive levels indicate that the fluid is still in good condition. After 4 years in-service and 25,000+ fired hours of operation, this turbine lubricant continues to provide reliable service without signs of varnishing, servo valve sticking problems, and issues with the gear set.

During this field trial the system was continuously running at or near its thermal limits, with the bulk of the oil remaining at a constant temperature of 90°C (194°F) in the oil reservoir.

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The unopened barrels of turbine oil sitting on the warehouse floor (or even the half-opened barrels of turbine oil) would be in much better condition than the oil in those turbines.

Now, unless someone can make a case that the specific add-packs in motor oil are made in such a way that they simply deteriorate in the bottle sitting on the shelf, I can only conclude that motor oil should really have a very long -- if not indefinite shelf life. I would think the add-packs in motor oil are designed to be as stable as possible under even working conditions.