It starts tasting sour after about a month. I now keep it in the refrigerator.

 

But sour is more flavorful.

 

Rum.............

 

It's already 70 million years old. Why do people think it goes bad after a year in a plastic jug?

 

IMO there is really no shelf life. Although oil specifications do change slightly over time, so your 10-year-old quart might not meet specs for your 1-year old car. But for your 10-year-old car, it is absolutely fine...

This process of giving "use by dates" to things which never expire is a great way for manufacturers of those items to make more money. But is pointless on many, many items. The fact that people fall for it is part of today's "disposable" society.

 

So, you think it is OK to buy a qt. of oil, to keep in car for emergency need & then still use it in 7 or 10 years?

A few weeks ago I would have said yes. Now I do not think it is OK.

I don't think it will "ruin" your engine. However, If you had stocked up on many quarts of oil & did an oil change with 10 year old oil, I think you could damage your engine, based on what Mobil 1 & others say.

Could they be lying?

Maybe they have done stability & additives separate ~ 5 years?

I don't think they are lying bc the vast majority of their customers do not stockpile oil. Certainly not for 5 years.

This will also discourage small shops from stocking up.

So they will get extra business from a few people who keep an extra qt and that they probably will never use & now they will recycle it unused & buy another every 5 years. How much business is that?

I do doubt there would be a noticeable bad effect or people would have posted this on oil forums but, maybe the engine wear will be significantly more?

 

I just checked my spare qt. of Mobil1 0w-40 European formula I keep in my 911. I looked carefully all over the bottle of oil & I see NO EXPIRATION DATE stamped or printed!

Hmmmnnn

WTF?!

Mobil-1 expects customers to remember when they purchased it? How old was it when I bought it? Was it sitting on the shelf for 1 month? 1 year?

I'm rethinking this now.

Maybe just need to shake up "old" oil b4 using it. Even if 10 years old or even older.

 

I just checked my spare qt. of Mobil1 0w-40 European formula I keep in my 911. I looked carefully all over the bottle of oil & I see NO EXPIRATION DATE stamped or printed!

Hmmmnnn

WTF?!

Mobil-1 expects customers to remember when they purchased it? How old was it when I bought it? Was it sitting on the shelf for 1 month? 1 year?

I'm rethinking this now.

Maybe just need to shake up "old" oil b4 using it. Even if 10 years old or even older.

Does Mobil 1 oil degrade after long storage...? - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion

C7 General Discussion - Does Mobil 1 oil degrade after long storage...? - Bought several Mobil 1 Five-gallon oil jugs while on sale years back. Been slowly using a few. Wondering if Mobile 1 oil degrades after a few years storage in my garage...?

www.corvetteforum.com

look for code on bottom

 

@ grim:
LOL

I literally just finished reading the entire post you linked & was about to post it since much detailed information from a guy who claims to have worked in an oil analysis laboratory!

I see you found the same thread & posted it 1st.

 

Oil ? It should last at least as long as it takes for the apes to take over the earth or until soylent green is invented !

 

There is no reason to believe that modern lubricating oils have an "expiration date". There is certainly no chemical basis to believe that any molecular changes are going to occur with oil left undisturbed in a sealed container at normal temperatures. There is an interesting series of three papers ("The Oil Report") starting in April 2012 that are available on the website of the best-known oil analysis company, Blackstone Laboratories, that relate to this issue. Worth the read.

 

....There is an interesting series of three papers ("The Oil Report") starting in April 2012 that are available on the website of the best-known oil analysis company, Blackstone Laboratories, that relate to this issue.....

For those curious, the above series of articles is found in the Newsletter serction. Below are some direct links......

Newsletter Listings......
Newsletters | Blackstone Laboratories

April to October 2012 Articles (Parts 1, 2, & 3)
https://www.blackstone-labs.com/wp-...s.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Gas-Diesel-2012-04-01-The-eBay-Oils-Part-1.pdf
https://www.blackstone-labs.com/wp-...s.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Gas-Diesel-2012-06-01-The-eBay-Oils-Part-2.pdf
https://www.blackstone-labs.com/wp-...s.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Gas-Diesel-2012-10-01-The-eBay-Oils-Part-3.pdf

 

Yes, I think the conventional oil itself & probably full synthetic oil is OK after many years but the additives......?

I don't think buying a lot & storing it for many years, especially in hot environments like my garage in the summer, is wise.

I am perplexed by the apparent lack of a date stamp on the Mobil 1 quarts though.

 

I’ll reach my personal expiration date long before that of any oil stored in my garage and car.

 

I bought a mid 80's 80cc trail bike for my son from a man whose son crashed it on day one and the bike sat for nearly 30 years untouched. He gave me a case of 2 stroke oil that he purchased with the bike. The 30+ year old oil tasted fine and I used it in the bike.

 

Inside an engine it's not the oil that breaks down but the additives. That's due to the effects of heat, friction, and reaction with air (oxidation). In a sealed container I doubt you'd see much breakdown.

That being said, my understanding of synthetic oils such as Mobil One is that they contain much fewer, if any, additives. Instead the molecules are built up from smaller ones (such as natural gas) to create the properties that the manufacturer wants. Since molecules don't "wear out" the oil can theoretically last forever. You can burn it of course bu the temperatures required to do that are much higher than experienced inside the engine. You change it because it gets contaminated with very small particulates that can't be economically filtered out.

The shelf life of a top quality synthetic oil inside a sealed container? Probably thousands of years.

 

Which of the 5-10 year old vintage motor oils is the best for my Porsche ??

 

I have an unopened quart of Mobil 1 in a nice zippered Porsche Pouch. It has been in my last six Porsches. It will be in my next Porsche . . . if I live long enough to have one.

 

OK people - there's already a thread for COVID-19 related issues! Post your related comments there, please.


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