How old is too old for stored oil??

[firebird72]

I have a lot of older oils that Im just now getting around to using, most are SM but some are SL. They are stored in a insulated & sometimes heated garage so never freezing, I shake them every year or so. Just curious how old is considered too old to use, would be for a mid 2000s toyota or older 1970's GM V8 engines.

I can list all the different brands & weights but most are full synthetic like Mobil1 SL, or valvoline SM, also have a few jugs of the old rotellaT SL & Delo 400 SM conventional diesel oils. Some are at or close to 20 years old others are 10-15. Are these still safe to use?

 

[ripcord]

I'd use them in my garden tractor or maybe for topping up a oil burning or leaking car between changes, but I wouldn't use them in a car I cared a lot about. If you do use them, I would keep the change interval short.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Why are you shaking them yearly - but haven't used them prior?
I always use oldest first. I would never have oil more than 3-4 years old. In today's SP-world of typical passenger vehicles, that means my oldest would be SN Plus.

 

[SaberOne]

Last year, while doing some home cleaning, I came across a quart of Arco Graphite. It’s from the early 70s and I have no idea how it kept getting overlooked. I remember changing the oil in my ‘67 Ford Fairlane.

 

[eljefino]

I'm running Valvoline Maxlife from 2005 in my kids' Camry from 1999.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I'm running Valvoline Maxlife from 2005 in my kids' Camry from 1999.

I wouldn't use 2005 oil, even if it was given to me free.
Non-contaminated Oil wont wear out. But the additives will degrade / weaken over time. If that vehicle is a leaking oil burner whose 20 year-old oil gets rotated constantly inside the engine, then I suppose it would be suffice short-term.

Or, you have a really good engine inside the son's car - that can take the abuse and still keep on performing.

 

[jhellwig]

It's fine. Shake it up and use it.

 

[firebird72]

Why are you shaking them yearly - but haven't used them prior?
I always use oldest first. I would never have oil more than 3-4 years old. In today's SP-world of typical passenger vehicles, that means my oldest would be SN Plus.

Being they are so old I shake them occasionally to avoid additives settling. Think I read that somewhere.

I do use oldest first, been going off a supply Ive had since around 2005-06, oreillys had a rebate sale that whatever you bought on their list got refunded to you 100%, most items were no limit, just what was available, i maxed out the rebate and had a couple friends/family do it too... car wash products to oils & additives, most was SM they were clearing out for the new SN grade.

These are all new, clean unopened oils stored above freezing, just older grades. The diesel oils I use for flat tappet cams in 70's GM v8's that are all newer rebuilds in restored cars, so far I havent had any issues, they are lower mile cars with under 1000 mile per year OCI.

Thanks for the input

 

[KGMtech]

if the spec fits, use it.

 

[Bullet]

IDK, but around 2006 I bought something like 50 quarts of TropArtic or what ever it was called at Dollar Tree. Did an oil change, and left the rest at my mom's house. I went in the back shed about a year ago and it was almost all gone. I asked my brother and he had been using it for oil changes all those years and never had problem.

 

[gfh77665]

Shake well and use oldest first. Don't buy any more oil until its all gone. One of the unintended consequences of hoarding is that the oil becomes obsolete even if stored properly.

http://www.pqiamerica.com/devilsindisguise.htm

 

[Hoster987]

PLEASE DO NOT USE THEM!! YOUR ENGINE WILL EXPLODE!!

Please leave them on the curbside and I will be more than happy to recycle them for you

 

[CarlB]

 

[nomas]

I'm seeing a lot of opinions here .

 

[Aston4]

Last year, while doing some home cleaning, I came across a quart of Arco Graphite. It’s from the early 70s and I have no idea how it kept getting overlooked. I remember changing the oil in my ‘67 Ford Fairlane.

Is graphite good for engine

 

[Hootbro]

I ran three OCI recently on my Gladiator with the 3.6L Pentastar using Castrol Syntec (pre Edge) 0W-20/5W-20 that was a mix of SL and early SM rated oils and analysis came back fine. I know some of it was pushing 15-18 years old.

I cannot push back on LSJr video @CarlB posted other than anecdotal experience of using 10+ year aged oils has not showed any negative outcomes from using them.

 

[Ride_Red]

Manufacturers typically say that the shelf life is about 5 years. I probably wouldn't go longer than 5 years in my car. I have gone longer than that for oil used in my lawn mower. Before using it in your car, open the bottle (do not shake it) and pour it into a clear container to look for anything that settled out. The additives are supposed to be dissolved into the oil. If the additives precipitated out of solution and are clumping at the bottom of the bottle, then I wouldn't use that oil.

I only keep a few oil changes worth of oil in the garage. I'll hit the sales and rebates, but draw the line at what I'll use in the next year or so. I got caught before with a bunch of old oil that I "saved money on" that I ended up having to just give away or recycle. In the end, I didn't save much money on that oil.

 

[oil pan 4]

I have a lot of older oils that Im just now getting around to using, most are SM but some are SL. They are stored in a insulated & sometimes heated garage so never freezing, I shake them every year or so. Just curious how old is considered too old to use, would be for a mid 2000s toyota or older 1970's GM V8 engines.

I can list all the different brands & weights but most are full synthetic like Mobil1 SL, or valvoline SM, also have a few jugs of the old rotellaT SL & Delo 400 SM conventional diesel oils. Some are at or close to 20 years old others are 10-15. Are these still safe to use?

3 to 5 years is the recommended shelf life.
I ran 20 year old oil Pennzoil SJ Group 1 oil in my lawnmower, it's still fine.
You can always use it for flush oil, top off oil or oil for a lawnmower.
I wouldn't put SM in a flat tappet engine. Anything but SM.

 

[SaberOne]

Is graphite good for engine

I saw a YouTube video on ARCO Graphite, but I can’t recall who posted it. It worked really well as a lubricant, but performed poorly in other areas. The one thing I clearly remember is how messy it got when spilled. It’s nearly impossible to get it out of anything it stains.

 

[Aston4]

I saw a YouTube video on ARCO Graphite, but I can’t recall who posted it. It worked really well as a lubricant, but performed poorly in other areas. The one thing I clearly remember is how messy it got when spilled. It’s nearly impossible to get it out of anything it stains.

That could be useful! Like on old black car plastic faded grey.