FYI Is old oil OK to use?

[Joe Hogan]

 

[rvkev]

It appears old oil is only better than NO oil.

 

[AbdRahim]

I had the same question. I found some brand new oil (that is unopened oil) that was 20 years old. I was afraid to use it - fully synthetic even.

 

[rvkev]

I found some brand new oil (that is unopened oil) that was 20 years old

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Like fresh leftovers that did not make it to the refrigerator, having green fuzz on them.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Send it my way! I'll use it!!!

 

[Chuggs]

I found a statement by valvoline that their oil has a shelf life of 5 years. I'm betting much longer...but it probably quells complaints that they purchased oil that didn't have a recent mfg. date.

 

[B52Bombardier1]

With old oil, besides perhaps the additive package going stale, you miss out on any technology improvements on oil that have occurred since then. Oil is the lifeblood of the engine and its always going to be new for me.

Rick

 

[Chuggs]

He's got a point... although...the technology we had back in 1998 took good care of my ISB for over 200,000 miles.

 

[Joe Hogan]

The chemistry of gasoline and lubricants has changed so much over just my lifetime it is amazing.
The engine materials and components have also changed considerably. Hard to compare one piece of tech between time periods.
Building engines in the 1960s (big block GM) vs 2000s (turbo 4 cylinder) vs today is completely different tech. Exotic metal, coatings, piston tops engineering, gapless rings, all amazing.
Fun learning about all of this. My days of engine building is well beyond me now.

 

[B52Bombardier1]

About an hour ago, I drained six quarts of conventional Valvoline 10W-30 out of a rebuilt GM LS engine (2002 Chevy Silverado) that only had one hour of shop floor operation on it. Changed out the NAPA Gold 7060 filter, too and I will cut it open tomorrow with the can cutter once it fully drains to look at the internal pleated media for any metal. The magnet in the drain plug only had a tiny trace amount of metallic fuzz on it and I'm pretty happy with the break-in performance of this motor so far.

Soon, this motor will find a new home in a land yacht GM B-Body Pontiac Catalina convertible. Yes, I worry about engine oil.

Rick