Any reason not to use engine oil from unsealed container?

I have 12 litres of Shell 15W-40 that has sat in a tightly closed (but not sealed) container for around three years.

In that time the container has been stored in a dry but unheated building.

The plastic container itself is marked with a manufacture date of 2014, so the oil cannot be older than that.

As the Series is due for an oil change, is there any reason not to use this oil in a Series 2.25l Diesel engine?

In the tank as fuel, or as a lubricant? ;-)

Depends on if atmosphere ever entered due to cold climate creating condensation residue inside. An old trick for water removal of oil or fuel in the RAF was Tampons. This just draws up the water only. Only issue we had then was WRAFs complaining when we returned them used. Only kidding ladies and Evoque drivers. Older oil shouldn't be a problem as the 2.25 engine is a plodder.

It's been in the ground a few years, a few more in a bottle won't hurt.
It's not like brake fluid that attracts water, any that did will get evaporated

None whatsoever, will be good to go, it’s not like it can seperate out or anything and as you have said it’s in a closed container so it won’t be physically contaminated either

Only thing that needs to be from a sealed container is brake fluid.

Thanks for the responses. As far as I know the container is sealed well enough to hopefully stop much condensation being drawn in.

I have read before that the additives in the oil can lose effectiveness with age. This is the supposed problem, not the oil itself breaking down.

Obviously oil chemistry will have come on a long way since Series engines were designed.

Webley1991 said:

Thanks for the responses. As far as I know the container is sealed well enough to hopefully stop much condensation being drawn in.

I have read before that the additives in the oil can lose effectiveness with age. This is the supposed problem, not the oil itself breaking down.

Obviously oil chemistry will have come on a long way since Series engines were designed.

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That interesting and something I will have to look into a little further, but I have been using unsealed oil for years. I got given a 205l barrel from an old job when the spec became obsolete for the newer model trucks. I have been using this for a about 8 years in my 110, and it is now coming to the end. I was looking at getting another one as it is significantly cheaper, and is nice and convenient to not have to worry about buying pil for a service as it is always there in the garage. However if age has an effect this may not be a good idea.

If you ask me I'd say either through successful advertising by the various lubricant manufacturers, or due to the fact that people tend to worry more as cars have become more "fragile" over the years, I just think its amazing how much the average person these days worries about the oils that are used in their vehicles.
Every gallon of lubricant picked up at your auto-parts store started life in storage tanks somewhere, in barrels at processing facilities before it ultimately ends up in convenient portable containers for you the customer.
All throughout these processes, just as with every large scale liquid processing system, impurities would inadvertently be picked up from the environment, including moisture, despite best efforts to keep this at a minimum.
Any moisture in a lubricant is evaporated through the engine's crankcase ventilation system as the engine/lubricant gets up to operating temperature over time. If you think about it, your engine is an unsealed container as well due to the aforementioned crankcase ventilation system, which is open to atmosphere through the engine's air intake. So over the course of your 5000km service interval, through different climatic variations, your lubricant goes through cycles of contamination far worse than you can ever find in any unsealed container of unused oil.

So go right ahead, you're definitely not reducing your engine's lifespan by using that oil.

I have all sorts of oils in the garage, some a decade old, I still use them.

Me too, several cans in the shed.
I think that the Idea of a limited life for every thing comes from the food industry where every thing has a sell by / best by /use by date. Even canned and sealed jar stuff which is known to last many years will have a short shelf life on it.

tottot said:

Me too, several cans in the shed.
I think that the Idea of a limited life for every thing comes from the food industry where every thing has a sell by / best by /use by date. Even canned and sealed jar stuff which is known to last many years will have a short shelf life on it.

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We still use 30 year old red diesel in the tractor.......starts first time.

Mineral oils store fairly well, but synthetic oils absorb moisture which can be an issue. It's a story of value, if you had an older low value vehicle then you would not spend a fortune on the best oils, but if you've put a lump of your hard earned cash into a car then I would go the extra few quid to try and give it every chance.

Thanks for the replies.

On a Series engine which is only used on average of once a week for two or three hours, is time between oil changes or actual mileage covered considered more important?

Most modern vehicle manufacturers recommend changing oil every six months if the recommended mileage interval is not reached.

I try to take my Series out for 20 to 40 mile run every week as I am unable to store it at home.

raywin said:

Mineral oils store fairly well, but synthetic oils absorb moisture which can be an issue. It's a story of value, if you had an older low value vehicle then you would not spend a fortune on the best oils, but if you've put a lump of your hard earned cash into a car then I would go the extra few quid to try and give it every chance.

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I get your point but surely it's the older engine that needs the best oil as it's already had a hard life?

On low mileage years i try to keep a common sense approach, what colour is the oil, how close to the milage interval is it, will it be used much over winter etc

I find that new oil seems to turn black very quickly.

Even though the engine was fully rebuilt, this is said to be normal with these old diesels.

Not only the old ones newish too

Webley1991 said:

I find that new oil seems to turn black very quickly.

Even though the engine was fully rebuilt, this is said to be normal with these old diesels.

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Webley1991 said:

I find that new oil seems to turn black very quickly.

Even though the engine was fully rebuilt, this is said to be normal with these old diesels.

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yes that normal so don’t worry about that.

I do about 5000k a year and change the engine oil annually regardless

flat said:

yes that normal so don’t worry about that.

I do about 5000k a year and change the engine oil annually regardless

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That was in reply to kermit's post about going by the oil colour.

The oil is now changed for the 15w-40 mentioned earlier in this post.

The old oil had been in there two years and about 2000 miles. I only ever take the Series out on sufficient runs to get the engine properly warmed up, it is never used for any short trips.

Webley1991 said:

That was in reply to kermit's post about going by the oil colour.

The oil is now changed for the 15w-40 mentioned earlier in this post.

The old oil had been in there two years and about 2000 miles. I only ever take the Series out on sufficient runs to get the engine properly warmed up, it is never used for any short trips.

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good idea. Short trips that don’t get the engine hot are total engine killers