What is the shelf life of motor oil??

[Alex D]

I was just wondering......what is your opinion about the shelf life of motor oil in unopened original quart bottles?
I heard somewhere that ten years is a given for oil to be fine this way.

What do you think?

 

[Ray H]

Do a search. This topic has been discussed ad nauseum on this site.

 

[Patman]

From the Shell website:

quote:

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What's the shelf life of engine oil?


Technically, engine oils have shelf lives of four to five years. However, as years pass, unused engine oils can become obsolete and fail to meet the technical requirements of current engines. In recent years, engine oil specifications have changed every 12 to 24 months. An oil that is a number of years old is simply not formulated to meet the requirements set for newer engines.
If you discover unopened containers of engine oils that are more than three years old, read the labels to make sure they meet the latest industry standards. If they meet the current standards, you should take the extra precaution of obtaining oil analysis before using them. An oil analysis check for key properties will ensure that the oils meet the original manufacturing specs. If the oils do not meet the original manufacturing specs, they should be discarded. That means taking plastic jugs to your local recycling center for disposal. If you have unused drums, contact your oil distributor for disposal.

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[Robbie Alexander]

What I'd like to know is what about oil that is open per se.
I have a bucket of oil that got a pinhole in the bottom and leaked, so I flipped it over, and been sitting here since ( a couple weeks noW).
How long do I have before I need to throw it away or place it into another container? My back has been out for about the same time and I don't want to make it worse.