old oil

[afpj]

I found a case of oil for my 'kon, but it must be about 5 yrs old. I forgot it was in my garage. PLain old Valvoline dino stuff. Does oil have a limited shelf life? Or is it OK to use? A search of the forums using "old oil" as a key phrase got nothing...must be a weird question, but there must be another packrat out there.

 

[WHITEOUT]

I've heard from 3-5 years, to indiffenently!! If stored correctly, ie: air tight seal and container, and no moisture present, if should still be good. But also what is the deciding factor is the additives. That's whats gonna cause hazy, cloudy oil. I'm not gonna tell you to use it, but if properly aggitated, shaken, I would then dump into another container, check for consistancy, color, feel/thickness and smell it. If all felt right, I might use it. I'm just going on what I've read, and researched. Very hard to find a definative answer to this question. I'm no expert, and doubt anybody, besides a oil company actually telling you the shelf life to there oil, is gonna be able to answer this question with a full guaranteed correct response.

But then again, is saving a few bucks worth worrying about???? I may just chuck it, and not have to worry, especially since it's going into your vehicle not a lawnmower.
just my .02c

 

[Yuk_Nali_6.0]

Honestly, I would use it. I wouldn't leave it in as long as new oil since they say oil breaks down over time. I'd run it for maybe 2-3K miles.

 

[redemn93]

its been in the earth millions of years. a couple more wont hurt lol

 

[Sasquatch]

I checked for an answer on bobistheoilguy.com. here`s what i found.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1590284

 

[KrautBurner]

its been in the earth millions of years. a couple more wont hurt lol

+1

even in these days where Beer and Soda have experation dates the oil dosnt
you have no idea how long it sat in a wearhouse or on the shelf at the auto parts store.

don't worry about it (as long as it was sealed)


the only reason I wouldn't use it is the fact that I only use full syn oil