Does oil have a shelf life?

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Originally Posted By: firemachine69
$$$$$


That, or they're afraid oil from ten years ago (that would be service SJ at best) would be used in a vehicle requiring service SM.


I agree that it has nothing more than to do with the current oil specification and to prevent obsolescence
 
Originally Posted By: webfors
I called Shell Canada before buying a 10 jug stash of PP and they told me 7 years would be no problem if stored indoors, preferably somewhere cool and dry like a basement. So I put up a shelf in my basement so I can look at my stash in all it's glory for the next 3 years
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They told you 7 years because that is the statute of limitations on their product liabilty when your engine grenades....
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j/k
 
I currently have SH rated full PAO synthetic in my 2002. I bought the oil in 1996. It's running great. I don't believe that oil goes bad but newer rated oil is usually better than what preceded it (although SL to SM may have been a step backwards).
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: typ901
Answer:
ExxonMobil recommends a five year maximum shelf-life for engine oils, including Mobil 1.

It used to be 10 years according to their web site some years back. I'm curious why they changed the recommendation, especially since oils have supposedly improved over the years. Does this change come from sound science or from the jesters in marketing?

Almost everything comes from marketing. They come up with stock answers that are designed limit their liability and to cut down on the number of questions that people will ask, because it costs a lot of money to hire people to answer all these questions.

Usually, the engineering staffs are ROTFLMAO (or to be grammatically correct, ROTFLTAO) when they read the [censored] that their marketing department comes up with.
 
Earlier today to my suprise (while wiring in a Ham rig) I found an opened bottle (90% remaining) of our former SF10W30 in our '03 PathFiner which I had placed in the car when new. So I would say a PAO/POE mix can last at least six years.

No settling, no cloudiness, etc. It had been subjected to 6 years of cooling and heating cycles, with three years of cold of at least -25 F.
 
I have about half my stash unheated. I really can't see a problem, but will move more indoors before winter. The problem is with the size stashes we have, it really is a fire hazzard. Every throw some used oil on a bonfire? How about that in the attic above the bedroom?

Anyway, on a lighter note. The OP has his own demons to slay, but the rest of us should just use the oil in our stash up by date code. Even if you are anxious to use a different product, use the old stuff first.

I looked at the PZ SUV Blend I have, it was SL but the date code was near 07. I moved that back in the rotation and am using some SL M1 up, it's dated more like 04. That M1 stash will last for 2 years, so that as well as the PZ as well as the PP and SP I have for my car will all end up about 4 years old upon use. If I vary from the plan, the old stuff will go unused too long. (I use oil up all the same brand at a time: all the this, all the that....)
 
A couple of years ago, I was working as a monitor at a 'sorting facility' in New Orleans which was processing the household waste left in the abandoned homes in the Ninth Ward...

In one of the bins, I spied some Mobil1 (a couple of 10W-30 and 15W-50 bottles) that was still in the old style round containers and was very tempted to swipe them. I don't recall if they were SG or SH rated, but decided it wasn't worth the bother and it may well have been underwater for a while...
 
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