Shelf life for oil?

[JRS]

I have been reading all the posts on oil and have a quick question. Is there a shelf life for oil?

 

[getut]

It sat in the ground for a couple million years. hehe So it should be fine if you keep the cap on it.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[gsxr1100]

nope. Just keep the oil tightly closed and away from extreme temperatures. Most times the oil rating will change too fast to store for a long time.

 

[Junkman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Most times the oil rating will change too fast to store for a long time. )</font>

Please define "change" and expand on this answer. You will be graded by the number of words you type. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[gsxr1100]

CE, CF, CF-2,CF-4, etc. Why buy these large ammounts to save on some oil rating that will be surpassed in a short time.

example here, if you bought lots of CE rated oil in 1990's it should not be used in a new diesel engine of today. I would use the oil conforming to CL-2 (2002 rating).

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( example here, if you bought lots of CE rated oil in 1990's it should not be used in a new diesel engine of today. I would use the oil conforming to CL-2 (2002 rating). )</font>

What if he had a diesel engine from the 90's to go with that diesel oil from the 90's?

Soundguy

 

[gsxr1100]

you would be fine with old engines/oil. You can "go up" so to speak but "not down". In my eyes, I would only buy enough oil for one year at a time.

 

[CTyler]

Not sure but I had a couple quarts of Quaker State that sat around for several years never opened. Was going to use it up in the lawn mower but noticed there was a bunch of build up at the bottom when looking in the bottle. I assume it was paraffin, don't know didn't use it, dumped it in the used oil drum. Most of it stayed at the bottom of the bottle.

 

[markct]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( you would be fine with old engines/oil. You can "go up" so to speak but "not down". In my eyes, I would only buy enough oil for one year at a time.
)</font>

so i suppose i could use any oil i happen to find for my 1936 cat grader then, provided its newer than 1936 /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif but seriously i dont think i would worry too much about using oil with a rating from 2 years before, how much different could it possibly be, heck most stuff when they design it has been in the works for a couple years anyhow, do ya think halfway thru the project the engineers are gona say oo we got this newer rated oil now, better change that engine design, and besides most engines are the same for many years, and theres so little difference in oil from year to year i wouldnt be worried about it, i mean im not gona go dumping oil thats 20 years old into my brand new car but within 5 to 8 years i dont think i would even give it a second thought as long as it had been stored in a sealed container, its not like gas where it evaporates off the volitile stuff. i remember when my grandparents house was changed over to oil my father put an add in the paper to sell the coal that was left, when some people called up they asked how old it was, to which my dad replied roughly 1.4 million years old, i cant remember for sure /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Phred]

Just watch where you store it. For some reason a mouse /rat decided to chew into a 5 gallon drum of hydro oil I had in a shed. I doubt they drunk very much /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif...... but they chewed up the lid so that it had a big open hole in it. Now I am afriad to use it since the tranny would probably work better without mouse poop, and little plastic shards!
That was a waste of a relatively expensive pale of oil!
I hope the varmint(s) in question payed the ultimate price when I left them a few gifts.

Fred