Is there an expiration date for motor oils and what?

The fuels and lubricants have expiration dates. And this applies not only to gasoline, but also to motor oil. Low-quality or simply overdue oil can harm the engine and significantly reduce its life. Also, various elements of the system can break down, so it is important to understand that the engine oil life is an important parameter that should be considered when selecting.

Proper storage

The expiration date of motor oil is strongly influenced byconditions of its storage. This applies to almost any product with a limited shelf life. It is quite obvious that with frequent temperature changes oil will not survive for several years, so the manufacturer clearly indicates the temperature of storage of the product - 20 degrees above zero. In this case, the room where the product is located should be well ventilated. Also, you must not allow direct sunlight to hit the canister.

The canister itself, where the oil is stored, must beoriginal. Do not open it and allow air to enter inside, so the lid must be tightly closed. Under ideal storage conditions, Shell motor oil retains its properties for five years. This also applies to the products of many other manufacturers. However, for each product it is individual. Look for it on the label - the manufacturer must indicate this information.

It is also forbidden to freeze the product. If there is a need to transfer oil from one canister to another, it is desirable that the other canister be made of the same material. The chemical composition of the lubricant allows it to be stored for 4-5 years under ideal conditions. If the conditions are violated, the shelf life of the product will be reduced. And in general, it is recommended to fill new engines with fresh and fresh oil, which was produced not earlier than six months ago.

Unsuitable oil

The oil stored in large volumesmanufacturers, necessarily check for suitability before spilling into cans. To do this, special laboratory tests are used, which allow to determine the state of the basic substances of the material. If the oil is not suitable, then it is disposed of in a special way.

If you have oil stored somewhere in the garage infor three to four years, it is impossible to determine its suitability. Unfortunately, it will not emit a special smell or have a certain appearance. Therefore, it is better not to risk and do not pour such oil into the engine, because it can damage the motor.

In rare cases, it can be determined that the oil composition is not suitable. This can indicate a crystalline precipitate and unnatural color of the liquid, cloudiness, etc. You can not use this oil.

Shelf life of motor oils according to the regulations

Most engine lubricant manufacturersassure that their product is suitable for five years with proper storage. You can always see the production date on the packaging. Most often it is printed on the canister itself, and not on a sticker.

Also note that the expiration date of motor oilsShell, Mobil 1, Castrol, Aral, GM and other manufacturers when stored in a canister and in a car engine are not the same. The product, when in the crankcase of the engine, is in constant contact with the environment (air), so it is exposed to oxidative processes. While the engine is running, oil also works, heats up very much, perceives mechanical loads. All this wears out the product, therefore the engine oil life in the engine is about one year. But usually the oil is replaced after 8-10 thousand kilometers of run, which many drivers come in six months or 7-8 months.

Moreover, it does not matter whether synthetic motor oil, "semisynthetic" or "mineral water" is used. The shelf life from this does not change much.

Strange color or smell of oil

Sometimes a discolouration or even a smell of a productdoes not mean that the oil is not suitable for use. Even in metal cans and plastic cans, the lubrication of the same manufacturer can differ in color. The fact is that when manufacturing the manufacturer first of all tries to achieve good lubricating properties of the product, therefore the color may differ between different batches. Mostly this applies to gear oil.

Determination of overdue oil

As mentioned above, determine the suitabilityoil is impossible. If its expiration date has passed, then it is definitely impossible to use such a product. Some drivers use special additives to "revive" the overdue oil. However, it is not recommended to use them. First, in oil and so additives, because of what it corresponds to the norms of viscosity, and the addition of new can disrupt the degree of viscosity and lubricating properties. Secondly, it is unlikely that additives will be able to "bring to life" the oil, the expiration date of which passed. And although the price of engine oil can be very high (up to 2.5 thousand for 5 liters), do not use the expired product in any case, because the engine overhaul is absolutely more costly than a can of fresh good lubricant.