Saving your Swepco 201
 

A lot of us save the left over quart or so of Swepco 201 when changing the trans. oil.

Just for fun, I called Swepco and asked them what the shelf life was. They said 1 year (tho noted that there were many out there that were older with no apparent problems, but they "would really want to sample [and test]that.").

So if you are one of the people who saves a qt. each time (say, each year) and on year 4 you have all you need to do antoher change, ...

well, be advised.


Interestingly, when I've asked for info on shelf life of greases, the only co. that responded said, 2 to 5 years.

If the shelf life (sealed container at room temp) is only one year... how come you can keep it in the transmission (with frequent high temperature cycles and pressures) for many more years without issues?

I am a skeptic on the "shelf-life" issue... unless the chemicals "settle out" or something.

I suspect shelf-life quotes are derived from limitation of liability policies: if they were to tell you it was good indefinitely they might assume some liability for your using their defective product.
Plus Swepco wants you to think their stuff is really special so you'll discard the perfectly good 'dated' product and shell out another $40 for a gallon.
Honestly, the simple solution is to own four 911s and buy three gallons at a time. No waste!

or change the tranny oil every three months...

re "settle out" or something -- the something would be chemical reactions -- that's what chemicals do...

re "how come you can keep it in the transmission (with frequent high temperature cycles and pressures) for many more years without issues?"
-- How do you know there are no issues? You may bvery well have accelerated the wear on your gears and synchros by 300%. You wouldn't know that w/o a statistically valid study after several years or longer.

I have no idea re their motives. I generally look at a business, esp. one that survives based on product quality, as honest -- until I know better. No reason to suspect otherwise here.

I'm not sure this will push me towards changing the trans. oil every year, but it is interesting information.

I'm not arguing with you Randy - just thinkin' things through.

I think the best explanation is the "product liability" issue. I've never read of anyone having a tranny fail because their Swepco was old...

If one followed the advise to dump extra diff. oil after 12 months, I'd advise against buying that product. The lube couldn't be that good in the first place if it has a limited shelf life.

Why would unused Swepco in an opened container be any different than a gallon of new Swepco? Is it hygroscopic like brake fluid? Does Swepco dump NOS at 12 month intervals? Do they advise their dealers to do likewise? Are their containers dated?

I'd chalk it up to a silly comment from the Swepco person or think seriously of changing to a more stable gear lube.

Why don't we all write to their consumer affairs dept.?

Sherwood

They wouldn't sell as much product if it lasted forever.
This is all sales BS. The fact that most trannies NEVER get the gear loob changed aught to raise more than a few eyebrows.

Hmmm...Water is very reactive, and very old...is it all obsolete too..just kiddin....

I agree re the best explanation being "product liability" - or just a general tendency to err on the side of conservatism.

Rarly - you don't know whether it is sales BS or not... but the fact that many transmissions run with very long or no fluid intervals definitely should raise questions.

Sherwood - I suspect the shelf life already has typical factory, distributor & retail time lags figured into it. Agreed re pull dates on the container.

I don't think I'll be saving the stuff for 4 years to put it in my trans. tho.

OK, so what about shelf life for Mobil 1 synthetic?

I just picked up 62 quarts of it.

Yes, 62 quarts. At $3 a quart you stock up.

Well I do know that I'm not stupid, something most sales people expect from the general public.

Oh, and the fact that I'm a chemist probably doesn't hurt either.

Hmmm ... I've got some Sears bearing grease that I got from my Grandpa's garage when he passed away 25 years ago. It's a rusty old can, but I still use the grease here and there (although not for my gearbox!). Seems to work pretty good. :cool:

IIRC, while reading about South West Petroleum, they primarily manufacture lubricants for industrial use and heavy equipment. Under the conditions that most of their product endures, I would think their philosophy is correct.

Furthermore, I believe they really don't promote their products for our type of use like, say, Redline. It would be interesting to hear what the Redline folks say. Certainly RL has a stellar reputation amongst racers.

Mr. Webb, you stirrin' up the pot....aagin? ;) :)

If one does want to keep the left over quart (or Litre, eh) I think it would be a good idea to transfer it into a 1 quart, well-sealed bottle. In doing so you remove the three quarts of room air that would otherwise share the space with your oil. There would be less chance of oxidation or water vapour contamination. Having said that, I just can't imagine that a hydrocarbon that has been sitting in the ground for a billion years would have a fixed shelf life. But we all know that gasoline has a very predictable lifespan, but it is more volatile. Now I've confused myself. Luckily the stuff I put in comes in 1L containers so I don't have to think so hard about these things.:confused:

Well, I thought it was interesting & people would be interested -- my point is we really don't know...

If I wanted to stir things, I guess I'd go to Fchat.

But what would a guy with only 13 posts know about past stirrings?

I think it's very interesting!

You never know, the guy with 13 posts could have been lurking for five years, twenty hours a week... and have notes on all of us! :eek:

Yeh, I bet he's been around for a while...

You think? ;)

Who is that guy ??

I've got a bottle of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, been in the cellar since '68 - this stuff can't be good anymore....

Hi:

Randy brings up some interesting points here that unfortunately, there is no empirical data available to prove or disprove Swepco's claim about a limited shelf life on these products.

All I can offer are some unscientific observations based on long-term experiences. I've seen a LOT of transmissions over the past 30+ years and their internal conditions have run the gamut. Some have used Swepco and some have used Redline and I must honestly say that driving habits had more to do with the wear & tear, than anything.

Some gearboxes looked simply pristine after 150K miles and some were pretty well trashed at 50K. Even transmissions that were taken from wrecked cars after many years didn't necessarily have terminal corrosion on the various ferrous and nonferrous components.

Personally speaking, I have no angst about using a remnant of leftover gear oil as long as its been in an airtight container to prevent contamination. All I do is change the stuff per the manufacturers recommendations unless its a race car. Naturally, those applications receive more frequent oil changes,.....:)

One merely needs to be observant and take note about what type of lubricant to use in various transmissions.

It's rot-gut now. I'll paypal you ten bucks if you courier it to me for use as a rust remover.

To add to Steve's comments, the fact that P AG says to change the GL-5 oils every 60,000 miles suggests that the 1 year shelf life is - at least - _highly_ conservative.

I say the GL-5's b/c there was a big change in the trans. oils in the early 1970's; P AG altered the trans.; spec'd the GL-5, and extended the drain intervals about that time.
- as per Aichele's 911 book.

And, just for the record, I am using some 201 that's been sitting at my house for > 1 year.

:D ;)

I seriously doubt that there is any petroleum that has been sitting around for more than 75 milion years ...

Original Mobil 1 was based on highly-modified castor bean oil stock, so I doubt that any comparisons with petroleum are valid ...

<b>Salesmen's claims and proclaimations without documentation are ALWAYS to be doubted!!! I can't tell you how many times in the past a feature or specification for equipment ... was based solely on the imagination of a salesman, in person, not over the phone or Internet! I'm quite sure the 'salesman imagination' phenomenon is worse these days, and must be checked vigorously for validity ... cheating is an out-of-control behavior in high school and college these days, and surveys show that most kids have no concept of, or belief in ethics when asked about why cheating is acceptable to them. Habits from school don't just go away on their own ...</b>

I found some at the 7-11 here... just behind the milk that expired in the the pre-Cambrian era. So there!:D

For the record, I don't think it was a salesman - I called them. I reached a woman, perhaps a receptionist -- and she asked someone in the back ground. I'm not sure that Swepco has any salesmen -- at least at the retail level.

If everyone on this thread calls them and asks if the shelf life is REALLY one year... we may not reach a real answer, but we will drive them insane.

Reviving this thread for some added information.

An equipment manufacturer that I deal with stocks a lot of 201 for use in their factory and for distribution to their customers. They informed me today that Swepco tells them 201 has a 5 year shelf life if unopened.