Transmission Oil Shelf Life

[William_D]

I have a couple of sealed quarts of DexronII transmission oil that is about 13 years old or older and wonder if it's OK to use it in my hydraulic pump on my RV. Does trans oil have a shelf Life?

 

[Gary Allan]

http://fileserver.urimarketing.com/LU/CourseCatalog/Lubricant_Storage.pdf

 

[Kestas]

I find it interesting (actually a glaring disparity) that the shelf life of synthetic transmission fluid is estimated at 5 years, while some manufacturers consider it fill-for-life while in vehicle service. How many vehicles do you think are at end-of-life after 5 years?

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
I find it interesting (actually a glaring disparity) that the shelf life of synthetic transmission fluid is estimated at 5 years, while some manufacturers consider it fill-for-life while in vehicle service. How many vehicles do you think are at end-of-life after 5 years?


That's exactly what I thought: If Hyundai says change the tranny fluid every 105,000 miles or 10 years, how can the shelf life be 5 years? Sitting in a bottle is harder than sitting in a transmission?

John

 

[D-Roc]

I believe what Chevron says there, to an extent. I wouldn't have any problem using oils I have stored after 6 or 7 years however.

 

[Steve S]

It would work.

 

[demarpaint]

You could pour it off into a different container and see if the additives settled out. I have some very old QS type F transmission fluid that I poured into a different container and noticed something had settled out of it. It looked like a thin layer of melted wax on the bottom of the container. I poured it back shook it up and will probably mix it up a little at a time with some bar oil for the chainsaw.

Frank D