Does oil go bad?

[TallerTrucker]

Probably been asked before, but couldn't find a thread. If you have a link, please post!

Was at my father's house, and found 17 qts of 5w-20 Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic I muse have purchased ages ago when I still did my OCI at his house. All sealed, stored in the shade of the garage in southern New Jersey with an estimated age of 5-7 years old. Is there an expiration date on the bottle I should look for? Is this oil still safe to use in a 2012 Ram 1500 Hemi?

 

[dogememe]

What API rating is it?

 

[SZR48207]

Should be fine.. you might want to shake up the bottles before using them though.

 

[CR94]

It "goes bad" if used too long in engines, but not if left in the original containers.

 

[Timo325]

I don't think oil knows time. I know some manufacturers have recommendations. We have folks on here with large oil cache's that they may not use the oil for years. I would use the oil in my car without a second thought. Give it a shake to get the add pack moving around first.

 

[FCD]

Give them a good shake before you use them, but use them for sure.

 

[Olas]

Oil goes bad in use
Oil goes bad (more slowly) in atmosphere
Oil does not change in a sealed bottle.

 

[Zee09]

If you need to cut it with a knife then it's bad

Check as mentioned the API rating against your owners manual.
Since your truck is older it should be fine.

 

[danez_yoda]

Won't that Hemi spit out the Ford oil out of pride????

 

[toneydoc]

After 6-10k miles of use but not in sealed bottle

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: TallerTrucker
Does oil go bad?

No.

Originally Posted By: TallerTrucker
Is there an expiration date on the bottle...

Maybe.

Originally Posted By: TallerTrucker
...I should look for?

No

Originally Posted By: TallerTrucker
Is this oil still safe to use in a 2012 Ram 1500 Hemi?

Yes (bit skinny though)

 

[Bud]

Originally Posted By: danez_yoda
Won't that Hemi spit out the Ford oil out of pride????

 

[FCD]

Some oil manufacturers state a 5 year shelf life for their oils, but they ar ejust being really conservative in case the oil is stored improperly or something.
People on this board have used 40+ year old motor oils and have had good results ( obviously when used in a car from about the same era )

 

[WyrTwister]

How long had that oil been in the ground before homo sapiens pumped it to the surface and refined it ?

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
How long had that oil been in the ground before homo sapiens pumped it to the surface and refined it ?

I didn't know that unrefined crude oil and a fully-formulated motor oil with additives were chemically identical

That's kind of like saying the water from a well has the same shelf life as a bottle of beer.

 

[WyrTwister]

They are not .

Conventional motor oil base stock ( or any petroleum distillate ) is a part / component of crude oil . A slice of the pie . It may be cracked or otherwise processed form longer molecules . Or put together from shorter molecules ( I think ) . However , that might qualify it as synthetic oil ?

Hopefully it is much purer / " cleaner " than crude . Then an additive pack is mixed in . None of which sounds like it would cause it to go bad in a few years .

If you believe the Darwinists , it has been in the ground for millions of years .

We are not talking about vegetable cooking oil that can go bad / rancid in a few years .

I quit drinking around 1980 , so been a while since I drank suds . But best I remember , water and bear are very different .

I did not wish to come off quite that much as a wise mouth . I intended to stimulate thought / thinking . I apologies .

 

[WyrTwister]

Mods , please delete this double post .

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Motorcraft/Kendall bottles get very soft with age. There were some old stock clearance bottles of Motorcraft diesel at a local Walmart, and they didn;t feel too good. So I'd be afraid to use it, except maybe in a lawn mower, or as a top-off.

 

[chainblu]

I once discovered two cases of Castrol 10w30 that had been in the attic of my garage in NC for 12 years. They were put there by my brother, who thought storing oil in an attic was ok and then moved to GA a few months later. This oil would have seen temp swings from 20-120F degrees.

It was eventually all shaken and used in my 1992 Saturn. Some of the oil looked a little cloudy, some bottles looked fine. That was about 10 years ago and that Saturn is still my DD.

 

[DGXR]

A few years ago I emailed my AMSOIL rep with this question and the general answer is "automotive oils have a 5 year shelf life," with a few side notes:

It will likely last more than 5 years if kept in a sealed container, in a cool dry place and agitated (shaken) occasionally to prevent separation / suspension fallout. (This separation is not supposed to happen but if an oil sits completely motionless for years, well... )

It will likely last less than 5 years if kept outside, and/or in an opened container, and/or in high heat/high humidity conditions.

This all may seem obvious but this old conversation seemed relevant to the topic.