# Does old oil have a shelf life?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-old-oil-have-a-shelf-life/47598>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [April 17, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-old-oil-have-a-shelf-life/47598 "2010-04-17T22:32:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![waterboy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/waterboy/32/764_2.png) [@waterboy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/waterboy)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-old-oil-have-a-shelf-life/47598/1 "2010-04-17T22:32:45Z")

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I have some plastic oil containers that have the caps tightened but left in an unheated WI garage. Is it still good for the lawnmower?

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**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-old-oil-have-a-shelf-life/47598/2 "2010-04-17T22:37:20Z")

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Assuming that the oil is the right viscosity for the lawnmower and has the correct service rating, you should be fine. Keep in mind that many small air cooled engines should use a straight 30 weight oil in the summer and the oil should be heavy detergent.

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-old-oil-have-a-shelf-life/47598/3 "2010-04-17T22:47:25Z")

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Old oil doesn’t degrade like gasoline. Standards improve, so it could be ‘obsolete’ for a newer car, but not because it’s in bad shape.

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**Author:** ![missileman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/missileman/32/1366_2.png) [@missileman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/missileman)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-old-oil-have-a-shelf-life/47598/4 "2010-04-18T01:58:46Z")

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Crude oil is already millions of years old when it’s brought to the surface. A few years on the shelf won’t make any difference.

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**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-old-oil-have-a-shelf-life/47598/5 "2010-04-18T02:35:11Z")

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It should be fine. I’ve got some 25 year old Harley Davidson motor oil that is still fine although the 25+ year old Harley Davidson Commemorative six-packs of beer I have are probably not.  
🙂