Does oil go bad?

Hey guys,

I found two gallons of Rotella-T 15W40 today. They are brand new, un-opened, but from March 10th 2009. Are they still good, or would you not risk it?

depends. Exposed to UV/Sunlight? If stored indoors, out of light, at a consistent temp it should be good but I imagine the additives may have settled out and may require shaking/mixing.

Doesn't go bad.. its sealed up! Go forth and use.

If it turns back into dinosaur, do not use.

Mike wrote: If it turns back into dinosaur, do not use.

This is good advice.

Flip the bottle over and shake it to death, proceed as normal.

I'd use it.

Still good, go for it.

As long as it still meets the standards for the engine, go nuts.

I'd use it, I'd probably even forget to shake it. A lab (probably Blackstone but I don't remember for sure) bought a bunch of ancient oil cans off eBay, the kind that you need a can opener to get into, and did analysis on them. Some weren't too bad by modern standards. I think one of them was a caster base.

The one thing I'll say is to be careful which car you use it in. 99% of vehicles I wouldn't worry about it and throw it in there, but a Boxster I might not.

How about using it in a 28 year old Japanese diesel minivan?

Mazdax605 wrote: two gallons of Rotella-T 15W40

That's what I use in my SV650. You have 2-2/3 SV650 oil changes right there.

The0retical wrote:

Ahhh, the old 'radiator stop leak in the oil' trick.