Author Topic: oil shelf life (Read 2803 times)

shrike · « **on:** July 23, 2007, 11:47:43 PM »

yes another oil question but different
I was changing my oil this evening and I found out I only had three 1 quart bottle of oil that were never opened. I purchased them about 1 year ago or 1 year and a few months.
I did find in the garage 1 other quart bottle of oil that was opened last fall probably so I could add the missing quantity up to 3300 ml. I did not have the choice but to use it since the stores are closed and could not wait until tmorrow.
My question is...is this oil still good (Amsoil motorcycle oil)? If it sat on the shelf for one year did it break down or something?

Do I worry too much?

H2RICK · « **Reply #1 on:** July 24, 2007, 12:45:00 AM »

Shrike:
No, you don't worry too much. That's a valid question.
Here's my .02 worth....
Amsoil full synthetic will definitely be OK after a year or so.....unless you had it sitting on top of your furnace or in a sunny window....and even then I wouldn't hesitate to mix it in with fresh oil from the same manufacturer.
Dino oil, OTOH, when exposed to heat will definitely have the lighter HC's evaporate out of it, thus increasing its viscosity, but I don't know how long this process would take.
I assume the oil companies have done all kinds of studies on this but I've never seen anything printed as to shelf life and there's certainly no "Best Before" dates printed on the bottles.
Maybe Paul (pmackie) can enlighten us some more on this ???

Now DOT3, 4 and 5.1 brake fluid is a whole 'nother story. It WILL go bad just sitting unopened on the shelf, especially if it's exposed to heat which accelerates the process. The manufacturers don't tell you this on the bottle but you should not use brake fluid off the shelf if it's more than 1 year old. How can you figure this out if there's no "Best Before" date on the bottle ?? Well, some (only some) manufacturers are now putting bottling date codes on their bottles but you have to be an archaeologist to interpret some of their codes. The easiest way to make sure you're getting fresh stuff is to buy from a busy auto parts place that moves a lot of product.
I, personally, got a bottle of genuine Delco DOT 3 fluid from a reputable Delco parts reseller place I deal with all the time......but since GM charges ~20% more for everything consumable, this shop didn't move a lot of the Delco fluid.
When I got the bottle home and opened it, it was partially gelled. I took it back and they gave me 2 bottles of brand X brake fluid in exchange and then binned the rest of that batch of Delco fluid they had on the shelf.

shrike · « **Reply #2 on:** July 24, 2007, 08:49:32 AM »

Thanks,
No, it was in the garage in a cool dark place. The temperature never got high but it might have got a bit low during winter, a bit less than freezing point. If there's a bit of humidity in it because of that it should disappear after a good ride.

I heard about brake oil no being good after a while so If I have an opened bottle I bring to recycling the part I don't use. But it's good to refresh my memory

pmackie · « **Reply #3 on:** July 24, 2007, 03:49:35 PM »

Here are Imperial Oil's "guidelines" assuming oil is in its origional sealed container, properly stored away from sun, etc. The cold temp won't hurt MOST oils. It can wreck havock on some water soluble cutting fluids, and there have been bad batches of engine oils over the years that had some of the adpack "aglomerate" into "fish eyes" over winter storage.

Shelf Life
Aviation and Automotive engine oils and gear oils. Mineral oil based or synthetics - 5 years
Greases (except Low Temp greases) - 15 years
Low Temp grease - 18-24 months
Industrial Oils - R&O, Hydraulic, Gear Oils, Spindle oils, etc - 10 years
Solvents and Antifreeze - 2 years.

Some of the shelf life is based on the fact that specs change rapidly on some products, like antifreeze and engine oils. Generally, the oil is fine for up to 10 years, but adpacks can start to separate.

If your using up older stock, shake the bottle well before you pour it into your engine. Some of the adpack may be sitting in the bottom of the bottle. Once its in the engine, it will remix just fine.

No concerns with using 1 year old oil. Make sure the 4th bottle your buying matches to the same API spec (eg SJ) as the 3 bottles you have.

shrike · « **Reply #4 on:** July 24, 2007, 05:52:42 PM »

Thanks...very good info!
I had all 4th bottles. It's just that one of them was not sealed. It had some leftover oil from a previous oil change from last year. I wouldn't have used it but I had no other oil, it was the exact same oil though

leedogg · « **Reply #5 on:** July 24, 2007, 10:57:37 PM »

yeah- it isn't the oil going bad as much as the adpacks like pmackie said....I mean, it did sit underneath the earths crust for millions of years before we extracted it. a year or 10 on the shelf ain't gonna hurt it.(sealed up that is)

shrike · « **Reply #6 on:** July 25, 2007, 08:47:41 AM »

That's the only thing that was bothering...it wasn't sealed. Anyways next time I'll make sure I got enough new oil before an oil change.

pmackie · « **Reply #7 on:** July 25, 2007, 12:35:21 PM »

Hey Shrike

Your 1 year old, previously opened bottle is NOT a concern at all either. As long as it had a cap on it, you can consider it basically sealed. Don't give it a 2nd thought.

shrike · « **Reply #8 on:** July 27, 2007, 08:47:14 AM »

The cap was on. I did not give it any more thought since you guys answered me!
Thanks!!!!

leedogg · « **Reply #9 on:** July 27, 2007, 04:17:09 PM »

Yep- by sealed - I meant with a cap too.

Glad we could put your mind at ease.:)