Oldest unopened oil in your stash?

cwilliamsws6 · Oct 9, 2021

I have a lot of old unopened oil in my stash and it got me curious as to what you guys have saved up.

I have about 20 quarts of API SH 5w30 Amoco Gold that I bought off Facebook marketplace and I have a couple old round bottles with a copyright date of 1985 of Quaker State 10w40 made from "Pennsylvania grade crude oil".

atikovi · Oct 9, 2021

What are you waiting for? It's not like wine that gets better with age.

cwilliamsws6 · Oct 9, 2021

I'm going to be using it across upcoming OCIs dont worry

atikovi · Oct 9, 2021

cwilliamsws6 said:
I'm going to be using it across upcoming OCIs dont worry

Oil from 1985 isn't going to have the specs your '14 Pathfinder calls for, but if you don't go over a few thousand miles on it, should be ok.

cwilliamsws6 · Oct 9, 2021

atikovi said:
Oil from 1985 isn't going to have the specs your '14 Pathfinder calls for, but if you don't go over a few thousand miles on it, should be ok.

The 1985 stuff is strictly for my lawnmowers but the Amoco Gold I'll comfortable run in the Pathfinder for 5k

Scuder · Oct 9, 2021

Does the Quaker State carry the SF rating?

cwilliamsws6 · Oct 9, 2021

Scuder said:
Does the Quaker State carry the SF rating?

I'm not at the house right now to check but I do recall seeing SF on the bottle.

Hermann · Oct 9, 2021

Some 5w-30 and 10w-30 Valvoline Maxlife Full Synthetic from about 2010. It is rated SN/SM on the back. Transition oil . I use the 10w-30 in my OPE

aquariuscsm · Oct 9, 2021

I've got a quart of the original Mobil 1 red cap 15W-50 that's unopened new old stock that was made before the merger with Exxon.

ripcord · Oct 9, 2021

I don't have anything that old any more. I had some garage sale, .25 cent quarts of SL TropArctic 10w30 but that got used up in old OPE equipment like an 80's rototiller and in the hydrostat drive of my Bobcat walk-behind.

Scuder · Oct 9, 2021

cwilliamsws6 said:
I'm not at the house right now to check but I do recall seeing SF on the bottle.

That would align with the 1985 date. The reference to Pennsylvania grade crude meant they were also using oil from wells from neighboring states. That continued through the nineties and the Pennzoil merger. The old QS Congo refinery is still being operated. Probably some, if not most, of that base oil is used at the nearby Shell blending and packaging plant.

GSCJR · Oct 9, 2021

SuperTech SAE 30 SL in 5 gallon pails.

Passport1 · Oct 9, 2021

Found a bottle just like this when I was rummaging around in boxes in the attic preparing for the move. Think it was in with a stash of some of my son's very old baby clothes. Must be ~35 years old. It was opened so I wouldn't be tempted to use it for anything.

Think it was an early 0W-somethin'.

dbias · Oct 9, 2021

JamesGames · Oct 9, 2021

Hoarded cases of Castrol Edge Euro 0w30 with the LL01 certs when I saw Advanced Auto Parts were blowing them out one year. I believe they are anywhere between 6-9 years old at this point.

53' Stude · Oct 9, 2021

Few gallons of 2014 era Delo XLE HDEO 10w30 SM/CJ rated

CleanSump · Oct 9, 2021

A maybe 10 year old quart of Amsoil 10W-40 high zinc oil. Not sure what is was for now. It's JASO MA but, not enough for the Enfield clutch case. It should be good for the Kohler engine in the new pressure washer. Kohler likes zinc.

wdn · Oct 9, 2021

I don't keep a stash of oil so when I buy oil it is always fresh and up to the newest spec. Even when occasionally I buy in quantity for exampe Delvac 1300 Super for <$3 per gallon, nothing I have is older than two years old.

wdn · Oct 9, 2021

Mobil says that motor oil has a shelf life of five years maximum so it is loony to horde oil longer than that. It is loony to horde oil even if it's new, but to keep old oil is just no good and is throwing money away. It's a lack of self-control.

CharlesInCharge · Oct 9, 2021

wdn said:
Mobil says that motor oil has a shelf life of five years maximum so it is loony to horde oil longer than that. It is loony to horde oil even if it's new, but to keep old oil is just no good and is throwing money away. It's a lack of self-control.

That's not my experience on either point. I'm a "hoarder" and got all this for basically free (and the Carquest fluids were 100% free), all the WM stuff was about 10cent/qt, and now I'm up probably a grand on top of it having sold less than 5% of it. Already paid for every drop of oil I've ever purchased in my life, and will ever need for the rest of my days. I'll sell 95% of it, make a nice return, and have enough oil to last until I'm elderly.

Motor oil will last probably 20 years easily if stored correctly. Maybe 30. But cars requirements probably change by then. And I'll be at the end of my life anyway so it won't matter.

Before this big score I was using up SJ rated motor oil in my recent few oil changes to use it up. The SJ was implemented in 1997 and surpassed in 2001. So the oil I used this summer was over 20 years old, and looked and performed just fine. Of the 20-25 qts. I used, I poured each out into a clear jug before use to inspect for any visual separation or contamination. I had to throw 1 out for water contamination. That represents a 5% failure in a 20 year storage situation. I never had a single one leak in storage either. So, not bad, not bad at all.