Shelf life of unopened UniversalHydraulic/transmission fluid ?

[dennis52]

The oil and "sediment" is in the tractor. I'll give the manufacturer a ring to see if they enlighten me any further.

 

[dennis52]

On further inspection I found, on the bottom of my oil pail , about 200ml of creamy emulsified water/oil
Called the manufacturer and it turns out there was a problem with my particular batch of the product (made about 7 months ago). A certain batch of an additive ,now withdrawn, contained water vapour .
I was assured that there would be no problem but was offered replacement oil for peace of mind.
It was delivered today.
I drained the 3 day old oil and there didn't appear to be any further emulsion present however I'll let it stand awhile and see.
I've moved so much oil this week I'm leaving a trail all over..

 

[CurlyDave]

A good question, but there is a different way to come to an answer.

How much money are you proposing to save here?

What percentage of the tractor's value is that?

What is it worth to not have to worry whether the oil is good or not?

And for the grand finale, how big a mess does it make when 20 liters of oil gets spilled in your garage?

I have always preferred to store money in a bank account over oil in the garage.

 

[Kaliburz]

Here is my $0.02.....

I buy hydraulic/tranny oil by the 55 gallon drum. It is stored, in the "use" position (on its side) w/ the cap loose. It takes me about 3-4 years to use up 55 gallons (just the normal dips/leaks on the tractor hoses, filter changes- I have 4 tractors). I haven't had an issue w/ the oil and it's exposed to outside temps (from 90F+ in summer to 20F in winter).

As long as your oil is not white creamy, I wouldn't worry. Granted, I don't know if your tractor is a hydro stat tranny...those are picky. Mine are all gear tractors and I did have one get some water to make it white ish once. I eventually purged all the oil out about 1 month after discovery (we were in middle of harvest, no time to take tractor out of the line).

 

[Sean2202]

I found an unopened hydraulic pail at my shop on a top shelf sealed. The prior mechanic was here 15 years and I doubt he could climb that high. Sealed 5 gallon container. Was unheated portion of shop until recently.

So what is thoughts on this one?

 

[hube2]

I read on one oil MFR site some time last year, forget which one now, that they recommended storing in a place with not much light and were the temps did not vary much. They also recommended a maximum storage of 5 years. Not sure about the time, I doubt that anything I get would be around that long. But I moved all of my oil out of my unheated shed and into my basement.

 

[Texasmark]

There is currently a special on Gulf Universal hydraulic/transmission oil so I changed my oil today but thought I might buy two more 20 litre buckets for the next change which will be due in about 30 months.
Does this type of oil deteriorate with time?

What do you think it does in your oil sump?