Does Mobil 1 oil go bad?

V8SRGRT · Feb 23, 2006

Just curious......does Mobil 1 syn oil go bad just sitting in the oil pan? I ONLY put 300 miles on the car last year and i am thinking that changing the oil in the spring would be a waste of money.....opinions please. Thanks

timeless2 · Feb 23, 2006

Oil that sits can become contaminated, no matter the brand. Condensation is usually the biggest pollutant to oil that remains still and exposed.

Change it.

Uncle Meat · Feb 23, 2006

Well the oil itself doesn't go bad, but as 4u2nv states it can become contaminated over time.

U.M.

Dan H · Feb 23, 2006

Synthetic Oil doesn't break down over time like conventional, but you should change it as it is bound to have a lot of moisture in it, and may also be contaminated with fuel, etc...

stng · Feb 23, 2006

the98stang · Feb 23, 2006

Yep, change the oil.

Hell, change the coolant too. A flush won't hurt anything.

BlackenedSVT · Feb 23, 2006

should change the oil every 3k miles or every 3 months. Which ever comes 1st. Never let oil sit to long.

Mike97gt · Feb 23, 2006

i agree with everybody else. i know it's painful to dump out 30 bucks worth of oil with less than 500 miles on it, but it will be loaded with contaminates

sgarlic · Feb 23, 2006

Just take it on the highway a few times a month to bring the oil up to operating temperature to flash out the contaminates and you can easily go a year without changing. I recently went about 8 months, around 1100 miles on Mobil 1, then sent it off for analysis at Blackstone, and they said it had PLENTY of service life left.

Uncle Meat · Feb 24, 2006

UDTBadkarma said:
should change the oil every 3k miles or every 3 months. Which ever comes 1st. Never let oil sit to long.

You know they've been saying that for years and I understand the reasoning behind the 3K they recommend, but why do I need to change my oil after 3 months if I've only driven 1000 miles?

Just curious!

U.M.

loosescrew79 · Feb 24, 2006

if only drive 1000 miles in 3 months that means that the car is not drivin that much, which allows condensation to build up in the vacant area of the pan. therefore that little bit of water COULD begin to contaminate the oil. thats why it is just a recomendation

Uncle Meat · Feb 24, 2006

loosescrew79 said:
if only drive 1000 miles in 3 months that means that the car is not drivin that much, which allows condensation to build up in the vacant area of the pan. therefore that little bit of water COULD begin to contaminate the oil. thats why it is just a recomendation

And that's a valid speculation... but all it would take is a good 30 minute drive to evaporate any condensation build up, no? I mean all cars will collect condensation overnight after they've been parked for the day. That's why they say short drives or trips are not good for a car because it doesn't allow the engine to fully warm up and burn off or evaporate the condensation that collects. Reason I ask is that I received my oil analysis from Blackstone a few weeks ago. My car ran the same oil for 3545 miles over a period of 15 months. So if you do the math you'll see that my car just sits in the garage a lot. The report came back stating the oil was in good condition still (Mobil 1 10W30 full syn) and had no moisture.

Click here to read my Blackstone oil analysis.

I just don't believe the 3 month portion of the old 3K or 3 month recommended change is valid.

U.M.

Mike97gt · Feb 24, 2006

i agree with UM when it comes to a car driven 1k miles over 3 months. i don;t see a problem with going 6 months on that oil.

the mileage and idling time is more of a concern.

laser2kgt · Feb 24, 2006

im curious, whats the longest any of you have gone with the mobil 1 synthetic w/o a change? i ask because i just got my oil changed a few weeks ago and i got the 15,000 mile mobil 1 full synthetic. i dont plan on changing til next year.

Uncle Meat · Feb 24, 2006

laser2kgt said:
im curious, whats the longest any of you have gone with the mobil 1 synthetic w/o a change? i ask because i just got my oil changed a few weeks ago and i got the 15,000 mile mobil 1 full synthetic. i dont plan on changing til next year.

15 months, but I only put 3545 miles on the car during that time...

If you plan on attempting an extended oil change regiment keep in mind that you still need to change the oil filter every 3000 miles and top off the oil. I also HIGHLY suggest you use an oil analysis service such as that offered by Blackstone Labs and pay the extra money for the TBN tests. They will tell you if the additives in the oil are holding up.

U.M.

sgarlic · Feb 24, 2006

Good post U.M. That's precisely what I was going to recommend. If you aren't sure about letting your oil sit in there too long, etc, just send it in to Blackstone. It's 20 bucks, or 30 bucks for the TBN test too. That'll put your mind at ease.

That's the kicker of running a full synthetic. Sure, you get a little better protection anyway, but it's mainly for people who want to run extended oil change intervals. For those of us who don't drive very far (I WOULD, but I have a van and a Jeep, my kids don't fit in the Mustang, and I only drive a mile and back to work each day,) you're just as well off running Motorcraft.. it's cheaper, and you still get very good protection. I've seen some very good UOA's at the BITOG forums of Motorcraft oil.

00silverstang00 · Feb 24, 2006

just change it

DropTopPony · Feb 24, 2006

UDTBadkarma said:
should change the oil every 3k miles or every 3 months. Which ever comes 1st. Never let oil sit to long.

I bet the oil companies love you! Those are standards from like 60 years ago. There have been many advancements in motor oil since then so there really is no need to change it that soon. I'm more concerned about the filter then the oil. My mechanic suggests 5,000 miles or 5 months on normally operated cars. The dealership will never tell you this and neither will any oil company.

Skidawg · Feb 26, 2006

I'm with the "change it" crowd. It's not necessarily the mileage, it's the sitting.

Based on my preferences only, I change the oil before starting it up every spring. It sits 3 months and is driven about 6,000 miles the other nine.

(Then the used oil goes into the Olds for a few thousand, but that's a whole other post)

Mike97gt · Feb 27, 2006

droptopponynj said:
I bet the oil companies love you! Those are standards from like 60 years ago. There have been many advancements in motor oil since then so there really is no need to change it that soon. I'm more concerned about the filter then the oil. My mechanic suggests 5,000 miles or 5 months on normally operated cars. The dealership will never tell you this and neither will the oil company

one little problem here. most car dealers LOOSE MONEY on oil changes. it cost more money than they charge you for the oil+ filter and labor. only dealers with a dedicated quick lube make any money on oil changes. it simply cost way to much to pay a real tech to do oil changes.

example.

most dealers pay the tech .3-.4 to do a oil change. at .4 you take a 20 dollar a hour tech that comes to about 8 dollars payed to the tech to do the oil change. plus with the cost of the oil and filter itself we loose money on 19.95 oil changes. and even on the 27.00 regular price oil change we only make a couple of dollars. that is not getting rich.

now about the oil companies.

they sell WAY MORE oil to other interests like. gasoline production, industrial fuels, heating fuel. they are not worried about your 5 quart a few times a year oil changes.

you said your mechanic recommends 5k oil changes. well i am a tech myself and i say 5k is the max. any more than this is asking for trouble based on what i have seen with my customers.

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