What To Do With Left Over Unused Engine Oil ?

[eyepea]

When I take the car for an oil change, I get a 4 litre engine oil can.

Car takes 3.5 litres. Well 0.5 litres left over.

Next service it is the same way. 0.5 litres left over.

I don't run the car excessively, so the next oil change is in about 6 months.

Some said don't use oil left over several months.

But even if I did use it, anyway if I buy a 4 litre can, then I will be left with 1 litre of oil

Hmm may be several times later I can save enough oil and then buy a smaller can to get an exact amount of 3.5 litres of oil and nothing left over

or

I can go to a service station that sells oil loose from a barrel, which 'may' have questionable qualities but then get the exact amount of 3.5 litres with nothing left over

What do you all do ?

Do you buy a 4L can and just forget about the left overs if your car needs less than 4L or buy loose from a barrel or some other way ?

What can I do with left over unused engine oil ?

Yes I can use it to top up if necessary (guess good to keep some at hand) and for lubrication purposes in the car and say use it for door hinges in the house etc too.

A friend said I could apply some on me self or collect the left overs and have a bath. Yet to try it. Hee hee

Of course this is not a big issue to worry about a little left over engine oil.

Can forget it or leave it at the garage though bass chap always pretends he has a halo on top side and doesn't want it when asked and dumps it in my boot.

But just wondered what others do ?

Thanks!

[jdnet]

has a shelf life of upto 5 years. As long as you keep it sealed tight and prevent moisture from getting to it, you can collect it for as long as you want and still use it when you have enough.

Edited September 5, 2010 by jdnet

[isurujosh]

with our honda we used to collect the cans with left over until we collect enuf so that we dont have to buy one in some service iterations. been doing it for 6 years repeatedly and never had any trace of trouble from the engine. so may be it is not a concern. i think what is not ok is to keep the oil a long time after using it at least one time. i mean if you put new oil today and run only today and never start the engine for 3 more months, then you still need to replace oil inspite of not using the expected mileage out of it.

[Sifaan]

  eyepea said:

When I take the car for an oil change, I get a 4 litre engine oil can.

Car takes 3.5 litres. Well 0.5 litres left over.

Next service it is the same way. 0.5 litres left over.

I don't run the car excessively, so the next oil change is in about 6 months.

Some said don't use oil left over several months.

But even if I did use it, anyway if I buy a 4 litre can, then I will be left with 1 litre of oil

Hmm may be several times later I can save enough oil and then buy a smaller can to get an exact amount of 3.5 litres of oil and nothing left over

Do you have to buy oil from the place that does the service (should be more expensive) or do they allow you to bring your own?

If you can bring your own, take the 0.5l for the next service and you'll have 1l left... next time 1.5l, etc. and you'll have enough leftover oil every 7 oil changes.

if you can't take your own oil, it's a bit messier!

or you can top up the oil if the level is going down (unlikely if you don't use the car much and if there are no leaks somewhere)

[shanX]

I also end up using 3.5Lt and not a daily driven car, so the last time I changed oil was 5-7 months ago, had to fill about 150ml about a month ago. I bought some oil yesterday, will change tomorrow. And this time I'll keep the leftover 500ml and when I change next time, I would get three 1Lt cans and use the 500ml I already have

[eyepea]

thanks guys.

yep can bring in oil.

[jumper]

  eyepea said:

When I take the car for an oil change, I get a 4 litre engine oil can.

Car takes 3.5 litres. Well 0.5 litres left over.

Next service it is the same way. 0.5 litres left over.

I don't run the car excessively, so the next oil change is in about 6 months.

Some said don't use oil left over several months.

But even if I did use it, anyway if I buy a 4 litre can, then I will be left with 1 litre of oil

Hmm may be several times later I can save enough oil and then buy a smaller can to get an exact amount of 3.5 litres of oil and nothing left over

or

I can go to a service station that sells oil loose from a barrel, which 'may' have questionable qualities but then get the exact amount of 3.5 litres with nothing left over

What do you all do ?

Do you buy a 4L can and just forget about the left overs if your car needs less than 4L or buy loose from a barrel or some other way ?

What can I do with left over unused engine oil ?

Yes I can use it to top up if necessary (guess good to keep some at hand) and for lubrication purposes in the car and say use it for door hinges in the house etc too.

A friend said I could apply some on me self or collect the left overs and have a bath. Yet to try it. Hee hee

Of course this is not a big issue to worry about a little left over engine oil.

Can forget it or leave it at the garage though bass chap always pretends he has a halo on top side and doesn't want it when asked and dumps it in my boot.

But just wondered what others do ?

Thanks!

I have this issue sorted... my car there is a oil leak from the head packing... so i can use the left over oils until the next oil change date..... :)

this is an evil strategy though