Using old oil and does it have a shelf life?

Pennzoil motor oil
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maverickfhs

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So I have some old Castrol 5W30(sealed) oil sitting in the garage forever. I changed some oil for the cars today and used 1(for 2006 Civic) and 2 quarts(2003 Civic) for each car, with some fresh oil.

I made sure to shake the quart very well before I poured into the crankcase.

I could see some goopy residue sitting at the bottom of quart( a bit darker) in color after I was done pouring.

Question, can I still use that oil or no? Can oil go bad like that? Should I keep it in the car or change it?

Thanks for all of your help.
 
Originally Posted By: Warstud
How old are we talking? What does it say on the bottle SL?


Thanks, it's a 5W30 and will share a picture of goop and label from the bottle shortly.
 
I use 26 year old oil SG oils in my new and newer cars with no issues and dont expect any. Have 25 cases.
grin.gif
 
Subbed for the pics, oil should be good. Might want to shake more (or store on side or upside down a few days prior) before using the next quarts - as goop is likely settled additives.
 
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I'd probably just use 1 quart of old with X amount quarts of new and call it good. If it makes you feel better... than shake it....but it will eventually mix up.
 
Originally Posted By: Warstud
I'd probably just use 1 quart of old with X amount quarts of new and call it good. If it makes you feel better... than shake it....but it will eventually mix up.


That's exactly what I did. Combined it with some fresh oil, as I mentioned in my OP.
 
I got some 10-30 like that left from when I had a 1999 F-150, at least 15-16 yo. I use it now in the John Deere riding mower--- no problems so far. I figured it was already a few 1K's old when it came out of the ground, what's a few more years...
 
Originally Posted By: widetrax
I got some 10-30 like that left from when I had a 1999 F-150, at least 15-16 yo. I use it now in the John Deere riding mower--- no problems so far. I figured it was already a few 1K's old when it came out of the ground, what's a few more years...


Yeah, but it didn't sit in the ground as a fully formulated motor oil with an add pack that may have solubility problems.
That said, I've been stashing and using oil bought on the cheap since long before BITOG existed or a number of the members were born and I've never had any problems with any oil even after a number of years sitting awaiting its moment of glory in an engine.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: widetrax
I got some 10-30 like that left from when I had a 1999 F-150, at least 15-16 yo. I use it now in the John Deere riding mower--- no problems so far. I figured it was already a few 1K's old when it came out of the ground, what's a few more years...


Yeah, but it didn't sit in the ground as a fully formulated motor oil with an add pack that may have solubility problems.
That said, I've been stashing and using oil bought on the cheap since long before BITOG existed or a number of the members were born and I've never had any problems with any oil even after a number of years sitting awaiting its moment of glory in an engine.


So I am good to go and dark color of oil and goop at the bottom, not to worry about?

Thanks for the input.
 
In my experience, I'd use the oil without question, but that is no guarantee.
I have and have used old oils in various applications and I've never seen any indication of any problems.
The same is true for many members here.
Doesn't mean that their can't be problems, just as there can be with mixing different oils.
Just means that nobody has experienced and reported any problems, just as no member has with mixed fills of oil.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
In my experience, I'd use the oil without question, but that is no guarantee.
I have and have used old oils in various applications and I've never seen any indication of any problems.
The same is true for many members here.
Doesn't mean that their can't be problems, just as there can be with mixing different oils.
Just means that nobody has experienced and reported any problems, just as no member has with mixed fills of oil.


Gotcha and makes sense. BTW, in this case for both Civics I mixed 3 different brands of 2 different weights, i-e 5W20 and 5W30. Would it cause any problems?

1 was Quaker state, other was Valvoline and 1 was Castrol GTX. Did I do something stupid and should change it?
 
Originally Posted By: maverickfhs
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
In my experience, I'd use the oil without question, but that is no guarantee.
I have and have used old oils in various applications and I've never seen any indication of any problems.
The same is true for many members here.
Doesn't mean that their can't be problems, just as there can be with mixing different oils.
Just means that nobody has experienced and reported any problems, just as no member has with mixed fills of oil.


Gotcha and makes sense. BTW, in this case for both Civics I mixed 3 different brands of 2 different weights, i-e 5W20 and 5W30. Would it cause any problems?

1 was Quaker state, other was Valvoline and 1 was Castrol GTX. Did I do something stupid and should change it?



Don't worry about it my father is the mix oil champion and all his cars and trucks have run for years and hundreds of thousands of miles without issue. As a matter of fact when his father died he took his stash of oil to use and you want to talk about old oil!! I was going to sell the cans on eBay to make some cash but my father said no way! I'm going to use it in my Jeep! He ran it for 250,000 miles before he totaled it. Sleep well at night...
 
You are fine with mixing.
I've been doing it for years with no problems.
As far as the goop in the bottom, in the future just sit them upside down a few days before using and shake them real good.
 
I'll tell you that you have a blend of oils that may no longer meet the 5W qualification and may also not meet the API spec that any of them would have on its own, since you've used at least two very different add packs as well as two different grades.
Having said that, I'd then direct you to Camprunner's post above.
Many members brag about wildly disparate mixes of add packs and grades of oils and report no problems from doing so.
 
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