7 year old Mobil 1 oil, looks fine, change?

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I had 9 year old oil in a sunday driver that was garaged all the time with 5,000 miles on it
with no water or coolant in the oil, it was very dark, but the UOA showed a TBN of 4.6 and low wear
metals in the oil.

Better then I thought.

If the oil is golden, it's still new, after all, when it was pumped out of the ground it
was at least 500 million yrs old! LOL
smile.gif


Oil companies have been scaring us for years!
 
My main concern is that the seller "said" he used an expensive synthetic oil in there 7 years ago,but who the heck knows,a seller can tell you anything. I wouldn't trust it,I'd change all fluids first thing.
 
The filter has probably deteriorated at this point. The oil is probably fine. I'd change both unless the previous owner is a trusted friend or relative. It's also likely the belts, hoses, battery and other exposure/time sensitive parts need to be replaced including: trans fluid if an auto, radiator fluid, brake fluid (!!!) , PS fluid.
 
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Change oil filter before starting it if you can. then drive it for a good hour or two on the highway and replace oil and filter.
 
There's nothing wrong with that oil.
Run it for 5,000 miles and it will still be good.

Take it for a short highway drive and spin a new Fram Ultra filter on it, I suppose.
But the oil is fine.
 
Originally Posted By: ArtDecoWorld
I picked up a vehicle (1983 Dodge Rampage) that has Mobil 1 Oil from 7 years ago in it.

I wouldn't take his word for it.
 
Change it for peace of mind, unless he had it parked in a climate controlled garage, that oil's been subjected to all kinds of temperature and humidity changes, all which helps to break it down over time. Assuming it's carbureted you can bet there is some fuel dilution in the oil, which is common when old carbureted engines sit for any length of time.
 
I normally agree with comments about not trusting what a seller says. But, in this case, I do. The Rampage came with several large boxes of parts, including a mostly used jug of Mobil 1 10-30 high mileage. The filter is Mobil 1. And, the seller was a nice older gentleman who clearly liked this vehicle, and spent a long time telling me about it. So, all in all, I am confident the oil in it is what he said.
 
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Regarding changing the filter prior to driving it. Well, I already drove it home, well over an hour on the freeway
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Is filter disintegration with synthetic media as much of an issue as with paper? I am sure it happens, just curious.
 
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Originally Posted By: ArtDecoWorld
Regarding changing the filter prior to driving it. Well, I already drove it home, well over an hour on the freeway
grin.gif
crazy.gif
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Is filter disintegration with synthetic media as much of an issue as with paper? I am sure it happens, just curious.


Synthetic media usually means all glass fiber, so it doesn't fall apart over time. (That old M1 oil filter is only part synthetic glass fiber, much of it cellulose paper material.) I don't quite trust the paper media for a 7-year soak, only a full syn oil filter like Royal Purple or Fram Ultra or Purolator Boss or Amsoil EaO or Wix/Napa XP.

I have no absolute proof paper breaks down with a 7 year soak in oil. It might not. Just suspicious about natural high porosity organic cellulose in oil.

I like the fact the previous owner used the HM version of Mobil1. The current 10w30 HM M1 has a high HTHS for those older engines, so good choice. Really any name brand Group II dino HM 10w40 would work too, like SuperTech at walmart.
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies

I have no absolute proof paper breaks down with a 7 year soak in oil. It might not. Just suspicious about natural high porosity organic cellulose in oil.


I don't think it does.

We've pulled a LOT (and I do mean a LOT) of old cars & trucks out of cow pastures, hayfields, and hedgerows and always fired them up on what ever oil & filter was in/on (if all causal appearances were good). Never had a failure yet.
 
I would change it. Keep in mind that even though it likely sat unused for a lengthy period of time, there was likely a lot of condensation in there that built up over the years.
 
Originally Posted By: jongies3
Change it for peace of mind, unless he had it parked in a climate controlled garage, that oil's been subjected to all kinds of temperature and humidity changes, all which helps to break it down over time. Assuming it's carbureted you can bet there is some fuel dilution in the oil, which is common when old carbureted engines sit for any length of time.

Please help explain: a) How does fuel dilution in a non-operating 'parked engine' happen ??? ! (The fuel is just sitting inside the tank and not even pumped into the fuel system!!!)
b) How does oil break down, if at all, in a parked non operating engine of an unmoved car ?
(Oil typically breaks down when being worked on between bearings and piston rings, and during high pressure high temperature circulation in automotive engines. The easiest time for the oil is when car is not even started and no being used , with no acid is forming nor any dirt contamination is continuously being fed into the engine!)
 
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
You can always pull a sample and test it. You could even pull the filter and use that as your oil sample source if you dont have a pump. I'm willing to bet the oil is just fine. It'd be neat to verify either way via a UOA.

Why even waste your time. dump and put fresh oil and filter.
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Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
I would change it. Keep in mind that even though it likely sat unused for a lengthy period of time, there was likely a lot of condensation in there that built up over the years.


In a sealed crankcase in a garage ??

I really want the OP to pull a sample and send it off for testing. Only way to know. And the results will informative for everyone
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Brake fluid is another matter, 7 years on, brake fluid is hydroscopic and can
have water in it that corrodes the brakes from the inside.

I'd bleed the brakes with new fluid.
 
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