Technical Speaking of oil:) does it go stale/etc?

My dad always bought 55 gallons of Dello 400 when he was driving his trucks. He retired around ‘02 maybe?, anyways I’ve used some of here and there. Tractors, etc. probably have 15 or so gallons left.
My neighbor is going to be firing up a fresh flat tappet rebuilt SBC in a few weeks.

 

Shelf life is 60 months from the fill date printed on the label. I would not put 20 year old oil in a new engine.

 

Heck, it probably older than that too.
Thanks.

 

All the stuff Chevron added that makes that oil great is probably out of suspension and at the bottom of the barrel.

 

Mobil and most others claim up to 5yrs.
Technical Topic
Shelf Life Recommendations for
Lubricating Oils and Greases

 

..Interesting topic. Couldn't reach that link.

 

"my wife said our kids are spoiled. I told her they all smell like that."

- Rodney Dangerfield


I wouldn't use old or used oil in anything I cared about. In something I didn't give two chits about? Sure. Why not.

 

I would use it on my stuff. They could be right about the additives out of suspension, but I’m not exactly sure that’s how that works, would like to see the data. The thing is, oil companies don’t have a reason to do that type of testing. They’re in the business of selling new oil. Bottom line; I wouldn’t give it to a friend.

 

I was give 2 cases of Exxon 10-30 oil by my neighbor when they tore down their shed, they were at least 25 years old.

I used them up ( I did shake them up before I opened them) with no ill effects in a Pontiac engine I had just rebuilt.
Just my experience

 

I haven’t pumped out of it in at least 10 or so years. I’d just stopped at the neighbors place on the way to work and while talking the subject of diesel oil came up for his engine. I told him I still had some left from my dad.
I didn’t have time to do googling at work, but will see him this weekend and let him know.

 

$50 to go get your oil changed at local shop, new oil, new filter , no mess to clean up or oil to get rid of . Or use 20 year old oil for free and maybe get to change your cam and lifters. I'am not going to take the chance that It's no good but that's just me .

 

Would be tough to shake up a 55 gallon drum. But I get ya.

 

Well, he was wanting it for start/fire up.

Also, much cheaper for you at a drive through place, in my humble Ca City I’m in, my daughter paid 90 bucks a month or so ago did her 4cyl commuter.
I’d just offered it up to him and got to thinking about it.

 

Oil never loses its viscosity. Or simply, it's ability to lubricate. But contamination is a different issue. Condensation inside a closed container, dirt, rust from the barrel. Etc., etc.
I think the answer has already been given. If I did use it in something I wasn't concerned about maybe I would strain it through a large coffee filter.

 

Not for a new engine, but for an old beater, no problem.

I recently got several quarts of oil in paper quart cans, it'll go into one of the old cars I play with for LeMons Rallys, etc.

I did that before, with no ill effects....

 

Cap off the barrel and roll it around. That`s how I shake my full 5- gallon buckets of glue. I just roll the can up and down the alley.

 

I'd run it in a "driver". hi rpm stuff, I'm more particular about.

 

This does raise a good question because now that I think about it I have at least 150 quarts of non detergent SAE20 and SAE30 weight oil in my garage that dad bought 20+ years ago. He would buy it when he saw it on sale or on a close out @ Kmart or something an amassed a plethora of the stuff. All he used it in was his flatheads and the lawnmower so I guess it’s still good…….Any opinions on this?

 

Blues4U should chime in here…
We tested our oil at work at large power stations in So Cal. We also made filtering systems and bought others. Our oil guy would always take samples of new oil from 55 gallon drums taking a 1/2 quart in a glass sealed container and set on a shelf. In a month or so there was always sediment on the bottom. Blackstone tests on new oil was sometimes worse than the tested oil we filtered that had been in use for over a year.

 

Oil is over a thousand (more than that) years in the making. Can it go bad? @Blues4U

 

Rig up a long shaft paint mixer and let er rip.

 

The more I read, the more I believe that the Frantz oil filter system might not have been such a bad idea, after all.

 

Yes engine oil does have a shelf life, as others have already pointed out it's due to settling of some of the additives, as well as condensation build up as @chessterd5 mentioned. Drums definitely breathe air through the bungs, even brand new sealed and never opened bungs will breathe; and if sitting outside with rain water collecting on the top, they will pull water into the drum. But even if they are kept under cover out of the elements in a humid environment water in the air will condense as temperatures drop overnight. Over 20 years time period there's liable to be quite a bit of condensation built up in that drum, unless you live in the desert.

I wouldn't use it except in lawn mowers and old oil burners with a lot of miles on them that really don't care so much about what type of oil they have, as long as they don't run out.

@squirrel you probably could've sold that old can of Castrol to a collector for enough to buy a new bottle of oil! That's a great photo though.

 

Pantyhose

 

Changing your pantyhose at every oil change sounds unsanitary to me but, you do what you want .

 

I prefer thigh highs myself but……oh wait……wrong forum…..

 

Years ago I worked for a filling station that was owned by a company that sand blasted buildings. They had a number of air compressors powered by 4 cyl gas engines. When we would service the engines, the oil that came out of the compressor portion, 3 or 4 gallons, always looked like new. My buddy would save the compressor oil to run in his old cars. He said for safety's sake he would let the oil set for at least a month to let any sand drop to the bottom.

 

Hey man, whatever you guys wanna wear is cool, but yeah, don't post pics please.... Lmao

 

I understand that petroleum based oils and their additives break down over time
but recently the cans for aviation full synthetic oil used in jet engines have been stamped with a shelf life date???
Some of the engines this oil is used in require no oil changes between overhauls
Which can be 5, 10, 15, 20 years and the manufacturers of the engines have no calendar replacement time on the oil either
It’s total BS

 

So for what I’m gathering a non detergent oil that’s been sitting for decades I can filter it through something to get the particulates out of the oil and run it in my flattie without killing the bearings