Oil & Fuel Add 20 year old oil to motor?

[5030]

I was using metal cans of oil for the outboard from the 1950's

Had one of my old car friends with me one time and he said what are you doing???

I sure got a scolding but not for what you thought.

He said he could sell all I had at $25 a quart full or $10 a can empty to collectors... this is 10 years ago...

I bought 3 full cases of Pennzoil 30 weight in cardboard, metal topped cans a while ago and used them as well in the lawn mowers. Probably should have made a small hole in the bottom and drained them and sold them on Flea Bay but alas, I didn't. Oh well, didn't know they were collectable. All gone.

 

[Have tractor did travel]

I’m under the impression that the oil breakdown occurs due to heat, and absorption of moisture from the air. That a sealed can of oil, should last almost indefinitely.

If I’m wrong educated me.

I first investigated this in conjunction with purchase of Shell's special oil for high mileage cars (meaning, already have a lot of miles on the engines). The only place I could find that stocked it was a distributor in Texas and that company had 90 cases. I lived in Alabama, and was going to stock up, but on learning it was already seven years old, and the shelf life reported below, I returned what I had purchased

Does Oil Go Bad Sitting in an Engine? - Oceanworks Berkeley

How long can your motor oil stay in the engine before you have to change it? Well, the oil mostly comes with a five-year shelf life. All ...

www.oceanworksberkeley.com

How long can your motor oil stay in the engine before you have to change it? Well, the oil mostly comes with a five-year shelf life. All the same, if your oil container indicates a shelf-life less than five years, you should work with the printed dates. After the longevity period is over, it is most likely that the synthetic additives in the oil will no longer be efficient. As such, you should ensure that you properly dispose your oil after it has surpassed the dates printed on the container.

DOES MOTOR OIL DEGRADE OVER TIME?​

A short answer to this question is yes. Motor oil can only last for a certain period of time. That's why it comes with an expiry date. For this reason, oil goes bad with time just by sitting in the engine. Over time, it becomes less viscous thus less efficient in maintaining proper lubrication between moving components.

 

[mgstevens]

A couple of years ago, a YouTube channel "Project Farm" tested very old oil - 70 years old - and found it held up fairly well.

It might have less detergents and other additives, but should lubricate just fine.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

Oil not exposed to atmosphere where humidity and microbes are likely to cause the greatest contamination will last a long time, assuming no reaction between the container and the product.

The oil used in todays engines 5-20W, 0-40W, etc. were unheard of back then and are likely synthetic.

I doubt any old oil that appears to O.K. would cause any damage to any engine that requires that type.

 

[ultrarunner]

We have had a few problems with modern oil in old cars if the old car is non detergent.

Modern detergent oil picks up decades of crap and circulates it and most very old cars don't have oil filters!

Not so much a problem with the 1905 Oldsmobile as it had no oil pan and is total loss system...

 

[California]

Not so much a problem with the 1905 Oldsmobile as it had no oil pan and is total loss system...

Or grandpa's 1920's Yuba Ball Tread Crawler. Five gallon sump. Brass tag says discard it all and refill with fresh oil. Daily.

Here's my post describing its use.

And a photo 100 years later of what is likely the same tractor.

 

[RolandW]

Interesting that this thread popped up in my email. Just yesterday I had my wife pick up some fresh 10W-30 for our small engines. I had been using from a case of John Deere oil that I found when cleaning out my deceased uncle's farm shed 11 years ago. There are about half a dozen quarts remaining. As far as I can tell it doesn't have an expiration date, but we are getting a side-by-side soon and I am reluctant to put it in such an expensive new machine. When I Googled it, every article that came up claimed that five years is about the limit. Peering into a half-empty bottle, it does look quite dark, with some discolored spots on the bottom. Since these small engines hold such a tiny volume I figured the cost of new stuff isn't a big deal.

 

[mtretick]

Made the trip to mom’s house to mow her lawn with her little Honda Harmony riding mower. Forgot to bring a quart of motor oil to top off the dipstick.

The oil level was “just” below the mark on the stick. That motor only takes ~1.5qt of oil, so there’s not much to loose (if a leak suddenly got worse), and I’m occasionally mowing on some hills.

There was a case of unopened Castro 10w-30 oil in her garage. My late dad bought it 20+ years ago. I shook a bottle up, opened it, and it looked like…oil.

To use or not? I added about about 1/2 to 3/4 cup.

Was it better than nothing? Or worse than (adding) nothing?

It’s new oil. Use it.

 

[coast40]

70yr old oil test, pretty entertaining.

Project Farm for the win! The best testing on things from tools and motor oil to blue jeans!

 

[RSKY]

We were cleaning out my mother's shop a couple months ago. She passed away last year at 96-years old. Mom would open a can of oil and use a little then a couple months later when she needed more she would not use the opened can but go get new. She NEVER threw anything away (somebody might need that someday) so there were many partially full opened quarts of oil sitting around. She also had a bad habit of filling containers with mystery liquids. So I decided to take all the partially full quarts to a recycling place and figured it would be easier if it was all put into three five gallon also partially full cans. Found an unopened can of Honda branded oil that Dad had purchased for his three wheeler before his death in 1982. It concerned me so I unscrewed the top and positioned it to drain into a five gallon can. About half came out and the remainder was the consistency of grease. Had to squeeze the can to get it to 'plop' out. A couple of the older dust covered quarts that had been opened were the same way, very thick at the bottom. Most drained with no problem. My take on this is that if the oil is unopened and less than twenty years old then I might use some to top off an engine but not to completely fill it. If it has been opened and sitting around for a couple years then I won't use it. Oil is relatively cheap, engines are expensive.

RSKY