EXPIRED: When Does New Oil Go Bad?
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- Опубліковано 4 лют 2025
- If you are like me, you probably have a several bottles of "new" oil in your garage, but they have probably been there for a while. Like a gallon of milk in your refrigerator, does a bottle of motor oil have an expiration date? Unfortunately, I've never seen a "use by" date on a bottle of oil, so how can you know if your "new" oil has gone "bad"?
In this video, I'll show you two simple ways to test your un-used oil at home to see it is still safe to use.
Here are the links to the products I used to do the tests.
Glass Beaker: amzn.to/3O3LYMJ
Frother: amzn.to/4bcsL5B
For more from the Motor Oil Geek, check out • Motor Oil & Lubrication
For more about used oil analysis, check out www.speediagno...
For a deeper dive into the science of lubrication, check out my good friend Rafe Britton's channel @LubricationExplained
For more about my Dad, check out this great video from @Stapleton42 • Lake Speed Shows Us Hi...
Who is the @themotoroilgeek ? I'm a Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Certified Lubrication Specialist and Oil Monitoring Analyst (I've maintained both of those for over a decade). I also worked for Joe Gibbs Racing for 12 years as their lubricant specialist. During that time, we worked with Wix Filters (one of our sponsors) to test and develop filters for our race engines. We also worked with Lubrizol and Chevron-Phillips Chemical to test and develop oils for our race cars. Following that, I was the head of R&D for Driven Racing Oil. During that time, I formulated and tested over 50 products. We also worked with Cummins, Comp Cams, Oak Ridge National Labs and General Motors on various R&D products. Those efforts are recorded in peer reviewed white papers published by SAE International and ACS Sustainable Chemistry journals. I also own and operate SPEEDiagnostix, which provides used oil analysis.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases That just means that I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you, if you choose to purchase that product from Amazon.com. It is a way to help support the work of The Motor Oil Geek.
#motoroil #syntheticoil
Does shaking the bottle of OLD oil "fix" it? Here are the lab results that reveal the answer: ua-cam.com/video/QeNLVUdoBU0/v-deo.html
The first question to be answered is whether or not falling out of suspension degrades the ingredients. Once answered, your answer is obvious.
Yes, yes it does.
For racing, every bit counts. Engines suffer more damage from heavy load, city driving & heavy throttle usage. Best to use what factory called for, in the religion where one drives. Old oil is still far better than low oil level or 15,000 mile oil change.
Admit it, you just wanted to make some extra funnels.
Excellent information, thanks!
You are very lucky to reach your age and still have your father around. Let him know how much you appreciate him before you can't anymore.
He's not that old
That feels like more of an insult than it's meant to be. If his dad is in his 80s I'd be surprised, mid 70s if I'd have to guess. And his health is in check, given that he was a race car driver, he was probably always in good shape and didn't treat his body like crap
Some men have children when they are older. My Dad was 43 when I was born. Mom was 39. Mom passed at 87, and Dad passed at 97, I was 54. Lucky they lived long lives or I could have lost them in my 40s.
My dad died when I was 15 years old. That single day event shaped my entire life.
@@gtileonever know what can happen man. My dad died at 49 from stage 4 lung cancer, never smoked a day in his life, was always in great shape, ate healthy, you just never know who’s not going to win the health lottery.
To be honest I'm actually interested to see the old oils lab test to see how good they still are or not good for anything at all
Noted!
So do i!
Good video
Does it matter if they're foaming etc... anyways?
So you weren't listening when he said you don't want air bubbles in your oil, huh? @@ronswanson8563
Retired from 40+ years in the oil industry including many years manufacturing PCMO's and other lubricants. We had display cases with motor oil going back to the 50's. I often wondered what the oil in them would look like. Buy when price is good and rotate your stock. Not so much due to aging oil but more because the technology improves every couple of years. I recall the scramble to meet API-SH and the introduction of ILSAC back in the early 90's, a real game changer. Keep up the great content!
Thanks for sharing!
Im old remember when switched to detergent
what was the deal with old quaker state oil solidifying? I remember seeing that as a kid but no one cared and some thought it made it better. (I always preferred valvoline but they are independent so you probably hated them?)
@@brijohnson6660 I’m all good with Valvoline. The solidification of the old Quaker State was due to the paraffin content. There are pros and cons to the paraffin base oils.
..oil technology improved until they started taking the zinc out..:(
That photo of your dad on the track ahead of Senna is GOLD!
Thanks!
Wait, YOUR dad beat Ayrton Senna? The thumbnail needs an update.
Gold!
Agreed. Amazing!
Please have Sr tell that story
Most important channel for car guys ever. Everyone doing internal combustion engines needs to know this stuff. I'm 70 and I wish this info was available 55 years ago. Keep up the good work.
Thank you!
I too am 70 this year and wish I knew this long ago.
add me to that list also
Did you know that Walmart gets their SuperTech from Mobil / Morgan.or Warren oil, depending on your part of the USA? I believe the Mobil Superteck has a Blue M at the bottom of label, front or back? And I think they have a bigger Blue cap? I never thought I would ever say this; SuperTech tests very well for everyday cars, can't be;ieve I said that? U even bought a 5 qt bottle, for flushing! LOL
@@DF-tz3ix- Me too !!!
Additive fall out in new oil too.
Shake the bottles.
PF say.
Shaking is not a bad idea for new oils.
Why not for old oils?
@@hesatoI think for the purposes of inspecting, it might be better to check it as-is such as mentioned looking into the bottom of the container to see if there’s been some type of sludge or separation down there.
yep invalid test he didnt shake them new oil out of store have that much in bottom if not Shaked
@@hesato As stated below, if the oil is old and you are going to check for separation, don't shake it. Good oils should not separate in short term storage.
Finally someone on line actually putting out facts not fiction.Thank you Lake for this public service.
Thanks!
Check out Project Farm and his oil tests
Wow, your father's story made me appreciate your channel 10 times more. Real petrol head. Awesome!
thanks
I am new to your channel and I have learned so much over the last few weeks from watching your content. What a pleasure it was to see your Dad in this video with you.
Awesome! Thank you!
I bought a Roadtrek camper van that sat for a long time and had 12 year old engine oil with only 900 miles on it, in the sump. I drove it home 1900 miles, changed the oil and had it analyzed. Report came back absolutely perfect. Blackstone said usage, not time is most important with modern engine oils.
Consider yourself lucky.
I was given a bunch of 'new' oil from the late '80's to early '90's from my cousin's uncle's estate they wanted to get rid of. Not great oil to begin with, Quaker State, some others and a couple 5 qt Kmart 'Motorvator' 10-40w jugs. I could tell it was old, looked darker than normal. I used it up in an old beater 318 car I have and changed at around 3000mi. Didn't have any problems. I wouldn't have used it or felt comfortable putting it in something I actually cared about. Oil is ridiculous right now. At these prices I'll use it up in my 'old' equipment. None of my stuff is extended drain anyway.
@vincemajestyk9497
Will you try to “stir the pot” to get those additives mixed back in?
@@bobirving6052 I would say that it would not hurt since, after all they are in 'suspension' rather than dissolved, so they aren't going to 'go away'. However with the anti-foam agents, they are not time stabilized so in 'old oil' once they're gone they're gone. However I've done this before, if you have a lot of new 'old oil' to use up you could try using a fortifier like STP or one of the others to somewhat rejuninate the oil. The 'red' bottle (4cyl) is the thinnest and would impact the viscosity the least. It would be interesting to see a test of old oil and then old oil plus STP or Lucas or one of the other boosters and see how much it brings back into the oil. Some of those 'climbing additives' cause MORE foaming. BTW, those additives in the package aren't just 'stirred in' in mfrg. There's a thermochemical process used that you really can't replicate. I would try some oil booster.
I would have changed the oil and filter before taking a long trip like that, just to be safe
I could watch this channel all day long. This guy needs his own tv show.
Thanks!
f tv, this is better...
@@fhe3220 LOL, Thanks!
@@themotoroilgeekyeah Lake, just keep doing what you’re doing! 😃👍🏼
@@themotoroilgeekreally loved the feature where you did the break-in oil change on your daughter’s Corolla! 👍🏼
If the oil is in a sealed container, then in theory all the additives should still be there too. I'd be curious if there's a difference between old oil that just sat there, and old oil that was vigorously mixed/shaken. Granted, chemical reactions in the oil can't be undone by shaking it, but I think it'd be neat to see the effect shaking the oil would have on its "badness."
i was taught that the additives would coalesce and settle at the bottom. In an industrial setting, recommendation was to roll the drum and settle it on it's side and change position regularly. This are for oils sitting for more than 5 years.
In storage stability testing, any visible separation or haze is a fail.
@@themotoroilgeekI buy Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5W-30 and if I don’t shake up the 5L bottle, there’s always blackish looking residue at the bottom. These jugs are usually production dated 4-6 months before I purchase them.
@@orionschroeder9401 I use Ultra and have noticed the exact same thing. I try to limit my purchases so as I don’t have much more than a year or so, (never exceeding two) stored. I always purchase the 5 qt jugs, and when I think of it, I also give them a shake once in awhile and return to the shelf.
I'm pretty sure that at least one manufacturer put out a technical bulletin recommending you shake the motor oil before pouring. I don't know if new additives or synthetic base stocks just aren't as good at dissolving the additives.
Project Farm has done tests right here on UA-cam of oil 40 years old and it still performed as it should have.
Wouldn't use ANY oils even unopened full synthetic types older than 5yrs in my expensive Ford F150 Tremor 4wd truck & *garage queen* factory supercharged 04 Mustang SVT Cobra "terminator". Not worth it to me! Prob would tho in lawn mower or yard equipment etc.
feel free to give me any unopened oil you have then i'll happily use it lol
Arent you so special.@@Davido50
Lol typical smooth brained mustang owner
Thank you for this. When changing oil, I have always poured a little oil out, replaced the cap and shook the rest of the bottle before pouring it into the engine or trans or rear end. If I can, also drain the container as long as possible to get the most oil out of the container.
honestly, I just store the case on its side or top at the house, so settling occurs where it will go in the motor. If its a jug I should invert it a couple days before, but I seldom use a jug.
Aint that special
ua-cam.com/video/QeNLVUdoBU0/v-deo.html
@@georgedavall9449, piss off.
My dad still has Arco Graphite Oil from the 70's. He shakes the cans on a paint shaker and runs it in his 1962 Ariens snow blower. Kind of crazy but that snow blower still runs great.
I love learning how much you have to offer. I watched your dad a lot back in the day.
I appreciate that!
Well done Lake and thank you. Great to see your Dad again too. He looks terrific and HNY to you all.
Thanks!
I’ve had Pennzoil Ultra Platinum jugs that were just a few months old have obvious additive separation that looked like sediment. I shook up the jugs before use and my car didn’t explode.
That was probably the borate ester, which can separate quite easily. Your engine mixed it back together.
@@themotoroilgeek Whatever separates out of the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum jugs doesn't seem to mix back into the oil very well, I've shaken them very well before use and still had crap at the bottom of the bottle. That issue has been going on with Pennzoil synthetics since at least around 2011 and I've heard it has been solved recently, but I can't verify because I haven't used it in years.
@@averyalexander2303 Thanks for the feedback. The GTL base oil has low solvency (just like a PAO). The separation issues seem to confirm my suspicion that the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum uses a borate ester. These tend to have separation problems, and they won't blend back in easily.
@@themotoroilgeek Makes sense, that's why I don't use it anymore. Not saying it's a bad product, but it seems like permanently losing its additives even during brief storage is a pretty major flaw and I'd expect better from Shell as one of the largest oil suppliers in the world.
Also, in my application, it didn't do a very good job at keeping my rebuilt engine clean after about 50K miles even though the oil was changed about every 4K miles and almost all those miles were highway, not short trips or in traffic. Again, not saying it's a bad product, it just didn't work very well in my application, so I'm using a different brand now.
@@averyalexander2303 thanks for sharing
Great information. In 1999, I found Mobil-1 for $0.97 quart in Santa Fe. I bought all of it, all grades. I found it again in Kansas and NJ a few days later. In all, over 400 quarts. I still have some of it, mainly 15w-50. I called Mobil and they said it would be safe to use until it was 10 years old but did not recommend using it after that. I no longer use it in autos even though I have two that in theory it meets the requirements of their engines. I noted it has seemed to turn dark in color which worried me. I only use it in lawn mowers and they seem to have thrived on it with near zero consumption. I did nothing special to store it. Keeping some of it in the basement and some in the garage.
@walterbright1396
Too bad I can’t buy it
From you and use it!
thanks for sharing
Vintage cans of oil will sell to collectors for a premium.
Don't feel bad, I still have some cases of NAPA oil around from the 80's. Made by Ashland oil Co as my memory serves.
I’m one of many volunteers working to get USS NEW JERSEY ( Iowa class battleship) to drydock in the next few months. One of our tasks is reactivating the anchor/windlass system to allow us to leave the pier.
Oil in this system is a minimum of 32 years old, and the original plan was to fully flush and refill lubricating and hydraulic oils. But when I sent samples out for analysis, they still came back as good, with a recommendation to filter the hydraulic oil as the solids were slightly high. This isn’t a surprise since that system only has a strainer screen (think 1930s tech) and the sample was taken from a low point of a 70 gallon system that has been resting for 20+ years.
In this case we will be filtering and adding a decent amount new. And the use of a mil spec oil here is one case where spending a bit more gets benefits…not totally unlike racin’!
how about the water content? 32 years of condensation should've come out with a relatively substantial % volume?
After 30+ years on a boat I'd be checking for water in that oil.
I follow BB62's youtube channel. I would love to be able do that type of volunteer work aboard her. You're very fortunate to be able to do that. Looking forward to seeing the dry docking. Have fun!
Interestingly enough, I’ve seen additives drop out of new oils after I emptied the containers into my engine and looked into the bottom of the plastic container.
If I think about it, I try to shake the jugs of oil before I open them up to help get the dropped out particles suspended again.
Thanks for sharing!
Yeah even if it's new, I always at least do several flips of the jug to make sure any settled additives end up in suspension right before pouring in and make their way into the crankcase, oil pump will re-blend it, no need to toss it. I mean if it's years old...yeah...I wouldn't use it.
Same here. A tiny amount of greyish green dust noted on bottom of newish Castrol bottle of mineral oil. Probably some molybdenum. White color bottle made in easy to notice. If it were black it would be impossible to see.
Store your oil upside down ?
@@markme4then they would just drop out into the cap. Shaking is the only way
I learned 50+ years ago from a friend that worked for a major oil company that any petroleum that is detergent will separate after time unless it is agitated before use.
I personally own a 50,40&30 year old chainsaws which all still cut firewood because I shake the saws and gas can each time before use! The same applies to my vehicle motor oil which I buy in gallon containers.
If it has additives shake before use!!!
You brought a tear to my eye when you opened the can of Mobil 1.
That was super cool. I was genuinely excited about it.
Just like all salt (NaCl) is, in fact, “sea salt,” all oil is “old oil.” How old? About 95% of the petroleum we pump out of the earth was formed in the range of 65 to 250 MILLION years ago.
But the question here has to do with the shelf-life of bottled automotive engine oil, none of which is stamped with a “use by” date like milk.
With respect only to motor oil that has been factory sealed in its original container, the fact that certain additives like molybdenum disulfide (a friction inhibitor), detergents and viscosity improvers, may have settled out of suspension over time is largely immaterial because once your engine has run long enough to warm up, and the oil has been churned through your oil pump hundreds of times, the additive package will have become reintegrated with the petroleum “base,” and function just fine - - in an engine that was initially designed to use that particular grade (i.e. “SH, or SJ) and weight (viscosity) of oil.
The real risk in using very old oil, is not that the oil has “spoiled” like milk, but lies in the fact that over the decades, the design standards established for engine lubricants have been steadily upgraded by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and its European counterparts.
For one, the “bases,” which are largely synthetics among the higher quality products, and the “additive packages,” have progressively been improved by petroleum engineers, reflecting the demands of the ever increasing volumetric efficiency of modern internal combustion engines.
Secondly, many modern engines specify ever lower oil viscosity ranges, including 0W-16, a very “thin” oil compared to the “straight 30 weight” likely specified for use in the antiquated engine in your air-cooled lawn mower, thinner yet than the 20W-50 “racing oils” we older gear-heads put into the crankcases of our 1960-something muscle cars.
The reasons for the newer low viscosity motors oils are is twofold: Due to vastly more accurate design and machining of the moving metal parts in a modern engine (much “tighter” tolerances), a lower viscosity oil can provide adequate mechanical cushioning, which is part of an oil’s function. Secondly, by definition, viscosity is “resistance to flow.” Thus, “thinner” lubricants produce less drag on moving parts. Obviously, the lower the friction (drag), more of the torque produced by the engine is used to make the car move. Put another way, you are burning less fuel to frictional losses, instead of causing your car to go. Hence, we are seeing ever higher MPG ratings and often more horsepower from the same size (or even smaller) engines than 10 or 20 years ago, and generally way more than 50 or 60 years ago.
So, to summarize, it’s quite unlikely that motor oil still sealed from the factory 40 years ago has “gone bad,” it’s very likely that it’s hardly ideal to use in anything more modern than your lawnmower or snowblower.
Same reaction here. I wanted to reach into the screen, pop two holes with a flat blade screw driver, and pour. Just to make sure I haven't lost my touch. ~ Chuck
Wow, how sad
@@stevensilz-carson1793 so what i am gathering from your wise words is that the 5 quart sealed jug of full synthetic 10w-30 i bought 4 years ago for my 90's mini truck is still good to use with it. I dont think i would attempt to put 20+ year old oil in anything i really care about lol
I am SUCH a geek-nerd!
I am learning so much and YOU do a great job of maintaining this certified ADD guy's interest. Great voice inflection and emphasis!
Now to look for what is more likely for me, to appreciate what happens to oil in different gae gasoline engines and the nature of degradation.
Thanks for some GRETA work and teaching!
Awesome! Thank you!
Now your Dad's gonna want you to clean all the old oil out of the garage! Awesome video, keep up the great work!
LOL, Thanks 👍
Thank you , it's always good to listen to a professional! It was GREAT to see your dad again also!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I can't get enough of this of this stuff this kind of testing answers so many questions for us car guy's.One question that I have is when you take used oil to recycler and it's all mixed together different weights and conventional with synthetic what are you really buying next time around,Please shed some light on this it's concerning.Thanks and keep up the great video's.
Thanks for watching. The re-refinery separates all the different components by their distillation temperatures. It's actually a really cool process.
I used to work at feet service, We only used recycled oil on almost all engines like generators, winches, hydraulic pumps and regular gas engines in pickup & vans. Up to veh 2005. I don’t know what’s in recycled oil but they did just fine.
I use a lot of oil of different types and brands and see additives on the bottom of the bottles all the time in new oil, very easy to see in gold, yellow and silver coloured containers, that’s why you shake the oil
A little shake certainly helps. Which oils do you see the most separation from?
Good question...I also want to know.
@jackflash939
Do you remember all or some of the brands that you see separation in the new oil?
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Seeing your dad‘s go kart really brought back some memories for me. I was a kid racing go karts in the mid 70s. I was at the 1975 IKF south central sprint winter nationals where your dad did pretty good including winning the C open class.
Forgive me all, if I’m late to the party, but I had no idea our host is Lake Speed’s son. Fantastic!!! What a fun video this is. I love the little ride through history replete with annotated photos. My favorite oil video ever!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wish I still had the couple bottles of "emergency" oil from a dollar store. No API on it. Yard sale freebie. It was solid like jello. Loved to have you test it.
That would have been great!
great video < thanks for sharing your expertise yet again! definitely would love to see the oil sample composition of the older racing oils!
You got it!
Worked for Valvoline as a chemist and then worked at the research center of Union Oil of California (later to become Unocal). A lot depends on the blend/additive package and storage conditions. Just opened some 40 year Valvoline I had kept from when I worked for them A quart of Valvoline 30wt looks fine. A 50wt Racing had some minor residue. Pennzoil 30wt was my go to for old engines that consumed oil as it had better viscosifiers. Depending on your application, most old oils may be fine to use. Like in a lawnmower or older car you don't car much about.
ua-cam.com/video/QeNLVUdoBU0/v-deo.html
Great video. What I liked best was seeing the rapport between you and your father. And the yellow sticker on the door entering the shop was the best. JS.
Glad you enjoyed it
I used 35 year old Castro GTX 10w-30, mixed in with leftover Penzoil in my 2004 Volvo. Drove 2000 miles to Florida and the oil level was at the bottom of the dipstick. I topped off with 2 quarts Supertech synthetic, and after driving back, the level has been steady.
Love your channel and followed your Dad back in the day!
Awesome! Thank you!
Interesting and valuable- thanks. I operate high performance air cooled engines (in aircraft) and I’ve never understood why engines that have literally no time on previous oil change the manufacturers still require multiple oil changes each year.
Great video, and a wonderful bonus to see Lake. I watched him back in the day on Nascar tracks.
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks for the tests and info. I remember when your dad was active on the NASCAR circuit. I didn't realize who you were until I saw your dad. I'm glad to see he's doing well.
I'm impressed with your testing. The age factor was never addressed back in the day. It appears that the oil manufacturers really need to supply the manufacture date on the containers. Thanks again, Lake Jr.
Here's another reason why everyone should change their manual transmission oil as well, even though the manufacturers say in their user manual that it's never necessary. Thanks for another great video!
Is that kind of like "lifetime" transmission fluid. Lifetime equals the warranty period.
@@markleggett3944 Exactly 💯
In the early 2000’s I ran some OLD Havoline 10W30 and 10W40 oil in my Toyota pickup. These were CANS of oil that I know had been on the shelf in my grandpa’s garage all my life and who knows how long before that. So, I’d seen them there since the early eighties. There were several cases. My uncle used the pennzoil and Quaker State and I used the Havoline. At least 2-1/2 to 3 cases at 4-1/2 quarts per oil change is at least six oil changes. Plus there were enough loose quarts of another brand (Castrol I think?) to change it a couple more times. Basically, I ran this vintage oil for YEARS in an engine with roughly 400,000 miles on it. Last time I saw that engine in 2005 it was running strong.
I still have a couple of quarts of that Havoline. Only reason I haven’t used them is I’m told the old style cans are worth something to guys and gals who show cars. I’ve often wondered if they’re worth more in my engine than on the shelf.
I’m curious how these non-synthetic oils compare after all these years.
Also, I still have one of his oil spouts somewhere.
I had oil in my garage for 20 years and it ran perfect for a 5K oil change interval.
Id like the see the analysis of the old oils. Also would it make a difference if you shook the bottles of old oil before opening them? Would it mix some of the additives back into the oil
I just was about to ask the same. As a habit I always just give a shake to my oil before pouring. Does that do anything?
Great question. There is a blend order when making oil, and that is important to how the oil actually works. The engine will remix the oil, but why it separated in the first place is something to consider.
Shaking the bottle can help.
@@themotoroilgeek Would heat help as well to establish the emulsifier or is the blend oil the end all be all? Also when we see sediment at the bottom of Pennzoil Platinum Ultra would that realistically be a concern? Oil seems to be an exercise of variables consistently in motion so finding an opinion at any particular point is not super useful as it has to be holistic. I guess that's why we have engineers who understand specifications and try to track the curves and match them up to operation. Oil just seems especially cumbersome to navigate for a non-engineer and imagine it could even be challenging for a lot of types of engineers.
@@jinxtacy Great question and observation! Oil is very complex and there are several variables. With that said, in storage stability testing any visible separation is a fail.
I have used full synthetics that have been in my shed for 5 years, shook it up, didn't have a problem. That Mobile One was PAO based, it was likely before the lawsuit with Castrol when they came out with group III. Love your oil reviews.
Somewhere around the 3rd or 4th time you told the shop building / racing /engine building story my eyes started to glaze over.
Great information, especially for us older guys that have oil sitting around. 👍👍
I recycled 40 gallons of synthetic before moving last year. Broke my heart. I kept the newest of the old for use as bar oil in my chainsaw.
I use all my used motor oil for my saws. Works fine.
Your Dad Raced NASCAR, when NASCAR was cool. Hello Lake Speed, hope things are good for you. I miss watching you race every weekend.
Question: Yesterday I opened an 18 month old bottle of Pennzoil Platinum 10W30 and at the bottom of the container there was a heavy build up of black-ish sediment. That was not “old” by any means but would that indicate that the oil shouldn’t have been used? Remember, only 18 months old according to the date on the bottle.
Great video……as usual 👍🏻.
Thanks for sharing. That goes to show that separation can happen sooner than you might expect.
Yes please, an oil analysis would be very revealing. Perhaps pouring one of those old bottles after shaking well, to see if that helps at all?
I'll do the oil analysis on a few of those old oils. Shaken vs not is a decent idea. Thanks!
Was looking to see someone else ask about shaken, if it is shaken poured into an engine and brought up to temperature would it re mix?
@@themotoroilgeek Will want to shake it up really well. Additives that are in SUSPENSION are not dissolved, and WILL settle out over time. Oils that have been in storage NEED to be WELL shaken before adding to an engine.
@@themotoroilgeek It will be shaken in the motor when you start it.
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Would love to see analysis of those oils. Especially to see the oxidation numbers. Also, could you not shake the oil vigorously (paint shaker maybe) to remix the additives?
Great question. There is a blend order when making oil, and that is important to how the oil actually works. The engine will remix the oil, but why it separated in the first place is something to consider. We will do the oil analysis on the old oils.
@@themotoroilgeek Is it possible that time has more to do with additive separation than anything else with these older oils that haven't seen extreme temperatures? I think without lab testing also there is a lot of conjecture happening here.
@@guywihn1658 Low temperature storage has more influence on additive separation than time. Also, visible separation is a fail in storage stability testing, so there is no conjecture here.
@@themotoroilgeek did you know if any of the oil companies or labs actually did a 10 year experiment like that? Would be interesting to find out if the additives do fall out and settle at the bottom and draw samples from top and bottom to test.
edit: bad habit of commenting without watching and realise you've address most of what I said in the beginning.
@@smoadia85 no problem! The standard testing is 30 day cold storage. The longest I’ve ever seen is 90 days cold storage.
Never thought about old oil being a problem. Would be interesting to know what settled at the bottom.
We will do the oil analysis on them.
new oils settle too. you have to shake your oil.
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I've never been that mechanically inclined, but I do change my own oil. I'm enjoying geeking out on your channel.
I used to like helping my Dad. But he sold a lot more than he worked on. Thanks for introducing us to your Father. That looked like ya'll were have almost as much fun as building a go kart. I have been a full syn guy for years, even use it in the mower.
I wouldn't throw out the old oil. I'd probably use it for an engine flush, run it on a shorter interval, or use it in an old 4 cycle engine. I'd be interested in an oil analysis on these to see how much add pack and VI is in them.
That’s actually a really great idea.
I'll do the oil analysis on those old oils.
@@themotoroilgeek Awesome! 👍👍
Yes, it can also be used where the chemistry doesn't really matter, such as in workshop tasks such as drilling and quenching or lubricating hedge trimmers and the like, but those boxes of bottles would last several lifetimes!
@@stco2426 Great point! I meant to mention that in the video as an alternative use. Thanks for mentioning that.
This is why I love your channel it’s full of great, scientifically proven information you can’t find anywhere else.
Fun fact: my wife’s grandmother lived next door to Senna’s grandmother in São Paulo.
Awesome!
I had a sealed 200ml burette of new high quality mineral 20W-60 sat on a shelf for maybe 10 yrs, over that time it stratified so that it was very dark at the bottom and progressively lighter toward the top. I now invert oil containers occasionally.
Lake,
Great job, I have used a bottle/church key to open thousand cans of Mobil jet oil. To this day they still come in those silver cans.. love to see your voa on those oils. Good to see your dad, he’s looking great.. take care..
Thank you
Worked in hydro generating station built by the United States bureau reclamation, we used shell turbo 68 & 32 in our bearing baths for the turbines that were connected with a pipe gallery to a huge vented filtered and unfiltered tanks, we moved the unfiltered thru a high pressure filter and reused it for over 25 years no problem.
Definitely send it off for analysis
Will do!
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I have old racing oil around from back in the late 80's to early 90's. I'll have to do this testing when the weather warms up. Being up North and the oil stored in an unheated garage should yield some interesting results.
Right on!
People often neglect servicing the rear differential oil. If vintage oil is that bad in the bottle imagine what it is like in a car that has been sitting for many years, especially "will it run" videos.
Great point! Get it running and then change the oil!
I did that test with gear oil. I bought a 74 car that had only 15k miles in 1993. I just started driving it about 4-5 years ago. The first thing I noted was that it was extremely stiff to shift. I didn't think about the age of the gear oil right away, and thought this low mileage gearbox would need a rebuild. Then I got to thinking and I checked the original owner's service history. He had the gear oil changed in 1975, so it was well over 40 years old! I dumped that oil as fast as I could and put new 80W-90 mineral oil in it. Instantly, the shifting effort was reduced to about 1/3 of what it was. It now has Royal Purple 75W-90 syn gear oil and the trans shifts quite good.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this video!!! I've been searching this information for two years!! I even phoned Amsoil, to get advice on how to check old oil... they wouldn't give it, or at least the customer service person/expert didn't know how to. Thank you LS2nd!
Glad it was helpful!
First time watching, the topic jumped out to me.
Finding out who your Dad is, and seeing Lake, made my day.
Blast from the past. Hope he is doing great.
Thank you!
Hey, thanks for doing this stuff, man! REALLY appreciated! 👍
edit: I'll pass on the "smell-o-vision" for the gear oil... thanks! lol
That reminds me now of when I worked as BMW tech, when I was young...there was a soap dispenser on the wall of the locker room/bathroom that was empty for at least a month... so I decided to go back into my cabinet, and fill the dispenser with some 90wt and stick it back on the wall... Hiding around the corner while watching my workmate "lather it up" into his hands, only for the sink faucet water to bead right off was pretty funny. Boy that stuff smells (and it doesn't go away for a WHILE)!
Forgive me if this sounds like a stupid question, but shouldn't you shake the bottle lightly before opening and using? I look forward to your response. I shake my bottles lightly before opening so as to avoid a separation issue.
I would not recommend shaking the bottles before doing a test like this. You don't want to possibly hide a potential problem. Otherwise, I do gently shake the bottles before pouring them into the engine.
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Another excellent, informative video! Very cool bonus having your dad appear in the video.
Thank you!
I felt like I was watching a Movie. I love the excitement and passion in his voice. This was awesome. Did not know Amazon made oil.
Thanks!
Actually gave two critical answers fairly early, THANK YOU! ;) Still watching, and greatly appreciated :)
Thanks!
I think we're all eyeballing a case of old oil right now in our basement or shop... I am still using some 8 year old diesel 5w40 that I got for a steal, have to check them!
Right on!
I’ve often seen deposits in brand new oil that I’ve just bought.
I’d LOVE to see how these old oils test in a lab.
Will do!
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@@themotoroilgeek Thanks. That was a very interesting result. I might need to send a few old oil containers off for recycling.
Id definitely like to see oil sample testing of the old oils.
Can the oils be shaken up to remix the additives back in? Like in a paint shaker.
Or, can regular shaking to new oil keep separation at bay?
Isn’t that the Slippery, Million Dollar Question though? (Will shaking the oil bottle mix everything back in enough to pour into the engine, where further constant mixing will be happening as you drive???) like does that even work???
@@I_know_what_im_talking_about
I'm thinking your wheels are turning on how to find out. 👍
Great question. There is a blend order when making oil, and that is important to how the oil actually works. The engine will remix the oil, but why it separated in the first place is something to consider. We will do the oil analysis on the old oils.
@@themotoroilgeek Good to know, but what does that mean in practice? Assuming the oil wasn't discolored or cloudy and someone did successfully manage to mix the additives back into the oil, would the oil then be safe to use? Or are you saying that the additives separating is as a result of some type of degradation and it will just separate again?
wow........... 70 YO backyard mechanic and I learned a couple things from this vid. Thanks Sir!
Thank you for getting to the point directly, right off the bat. So many UA-camrs go on and on before answering the question in the thumbnail. That said, the rest of the video was entertaining and instructive as well. New subscriber here.
Many thanks!
Curious to see the oil analysis of the 40 year old Mobil One.
Noted!
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That can is probably had value. I do not see many cans anymore. I have one that is an Esso Uniflo but the can is cardboard, not steel. Steel can were easy to open with the push in spout. Cardboard cans would sometimes collapse when installing the spout. Messy as you are not prepared for such a thing to happen.
Id STILL use all that oil. Any oil is better than no oil.
Amen
Ok... cause there's never a Walmart nearby to get new oil... 🤣
Wow, Dad looks great! I remember watching him race Nascar in the 80s! Another great video. Thanks!
He's doing awesome, and can still wheel a race car.
I found a gallon bottle of 5 year old Mobil 1 Extended Performance in my garage a while back. I used it my Trailblazer which takes 7 quarts mixed with a new oil. It didn't blow up or cause any noticeable problems. It definitely wasn't stored correctly and was exposed to freezing temperatures. I tried to find information on it before I used it, but couldn't find much. I wish this video would have been around then. Great information!
Thanks for the tips. I'm guessing the oils you tested were all kept at room temperatures the past few years. I don't know if varying temperatures would matter or not. I've got old oil in containers that has been sitting in my shop which goes from 90 in the summer to negative 40 in the winter. I'll try your test on them.
These old oils were not kept at room temperature. The shop temperature varies a lot.
@@themotoroilgeek Nice analysis. Thank you for making the video.
I had some cases of Belray 4 stoke racing oil that separated after about a year. Lucky for me, I remembered you saying something about it years ago. So I checked it. Im glad I did Lake, Thank You.
Wow! I'm glad it helped!
There is a local fire department That burns used oil For their heat You might want to check with fire departments To see if they need For their heat
This is good to know. I never thought about oil going bad. I do have some old oil so I’ll test it before use. Now I’m wondering about the 2 stroke mix oil I have for 20 years.
I’m glad it helped. The gasoline in the 20 year old 2 cycle pre-mix is bad by now.
@@themotoroilgeek I’m not referring to mixed gas I’m referring to the oil used to mix with gas. I have some old torco full synthetic, smokless 2-cycle oil. Should I empty the container and check for residue? The oil was and still is very dark purple.
@@bigskunk801 10-4, check it to see if there is residue. 2 cycle oils can live longer than 4 cycle oils.
Oxidation level test is a must. Can't wait to watch the next episode.
Absolutely, Thanks for watching!
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I have seen this in bottles i had just picked up from the store before doing an oil change.. what i was curious about is, can you just stir or shake the bottle up to re-suspend the stuff in the oil?
Shake the bottles and let the engine do the rest. However, make note of the production date on the bottle. It might be several years old already.
If you have a car that sits for weeks like an antique or classic, this separation is happening in the oil pan. I've owned old cars for years and never had a problem resulting from this.
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Definitely interesting in the lab results.
Excellent educational video.
Thank you!
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Your dad competed with Senna and beat him during a race 😮 now that’s a story to tell your kids for generations.
Seriously, that’s a hell of a story to just briefly mention in 2 seconds of this video. I wanna hear more about that.
Lake Speed was a damn good driver. He just didn't have the best luck when it came to the teams he drove for.
This is one of the most interesting channels I have come across in years!
What a great video, very informative and you are very smart.
I admire the relationship you have with your dad I love it! God bless him.
I love oil! Your are the 'God-Father' of OiL in my book. Keep making Knowledge! :)
Wow, thank you!
Comparing the old oil additive packages, to new oil would be very interesting . That 40 year old can of Mobil 1 , with no separation, is quite surprising, or is it. What does it mean, that the Mobil 1 still looks good ? Is it better than the new formula ?
We are going to check that out! I'm impressed with that old Mobil 1. We will report back with the test results.
My understanding of that Mobil 1can is. that oil was MUCH better oil? When Mobil found out that Castrol was using a cheaper base stock & still calling their oil a full Synthetic, Mobil took Castrol to court, & lost? Well, if you can't Beat them, Join them? Hence, Mobil is not as Good, as in the Past? It is no longer on the valve covers of Vets? What is Dexos? Google Mobil vs Castrol!
@@themotoroilgeek I'd be suspicious of that "new old can". It looked pretty new for an old can. It might be interesting to compare the analysis report to the OG specs if you can get them.
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I can confirm the paint and freezing
Chaulk also
You and your father are awesome. What an amazing life you both have had and continue to have!
I'm checking out your oil degradation video and how new oils compared to old unused sealed oil will have clues to conditions of each. What about greases? I know the age of some of my greases are 20 plus old. I think there are probably more guys with 20 year old grease than old oil. Thanks for all you do brother. You rock!!
Found your channel via your collab with @BeardedFordTech on his Ranger Oil analysis w/ start-stop on very interesting results , inregards to the oil deteriorating in the plastic bottles vs the older metal mobil 1 can did all the manufacturers put a nitrogen blanket to prevent oxidizing of the oil within the container? Or is the vapor space too small for that to really matter? Thanks again for the informative vid Lake
Thanks for watching. I don’t know of any manufacturer that deals with the nitrogen blanket.
Old oil is better than NO oil.
Thanks Lake, always enjoy the chance to learn something new from you. Take care.
Watching you and your dad in that shop brought back some fond memories for me! Your dad, Boobie Harrington and I filmed a segment for the old Performance Plus TV show that was on the Nashville Network (Now Motor Trend TV) We had a blast on that rainiy day talking about Auto Meter gauges and all the why's and whatfors to go along with them! Please please tell your dad Hi for me! I'm now retired and enjoying the memories of a great career rubbing elbows with fatastic hard working people like Lake Speed! BTW, you have taught me tons and verified old knowledge for me as well. Keep these vids coming! Thank you, Mike Tritle, formerly known as Auto Meter Mike
Mr. Geek , your channel is gold!
Thanks!