High mileage oils during storage (do seal conditioners need heat?)

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I store my 84 Cutlass every winter from as long as November to May (depending on how soon the bad weather comes and how long before salt seems to be mostly off the roads in the spring). We put all new gaskets in the 76 350 Olds engine in 2007, so they are getting up there in age now.

I have been running m1 0w40 FS euro lately, but last winter I stored it with fresh m1 HM 5w30 and ran that for a couple months after storage.

I'm wondering do the seal conditioners in HM oil do anything when the oil is cold or do they need heat to become active? If that's the case there wouldn't be any point in using it for storage.

The rear main seal is a ford 292 fel pro as seen in this picture. It says it's rubber. I don't recall what all the other gaskets and seals are made of. It's been too long. I'm just hoping to protect the valve seals, rear main, oil pan gasket, etc.

Thanks for any input on this.
 

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Per your question as phrased, seal conditioners will have little if anything to do with your seal's ability to survive storage or prolong life.

Heat or cold wont matter in the slightest

What normally causes seal failure in storage is deformation caused by seal set from a shaft sitting without being periodically rotated and having a direct settled load on it.

Younger seals can bounce back better in the beginning but as polymers age they all eventually succumb to these things.

No chemical is going to prevent this because the same chemicals the seal needs to live and function also contribute to the degradation over time as a seal reaches end of life
 
Okay, so I understand what you're saying about storage and the shaft being in one place....but if 4-5 months a year storage wasn't enough to cause that type of failure, at least for another number of years....would the seal conditioners have any positive effect on the seals, at least vwhile driven every day in the spring, summer and fall?
 
Okay, so I understand what you're saying about storage and the shaft being in one place....but if 4-5 months a year storage wasn't enough to cause that type of failure, at least for another number of years....would the seal conditioners have any positive effect on the seals, at least vwhile driven every day in the spring, summer and fall?

They keep it pliable and prevent drying and some surface cracking so yes there is a benefit- how much that contributes overall lifespan of the seal would be impossible to estimate IMO
 
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