CASTROL SAF-XO

[Engineer]

BMW recommend this oil for the gearbox.

I have just bought a bottle and the date code (assume manufacturing date) is 15:11:05.

What is the shelf life of this oil?

Is it still OK to use bearing in mind that it is 4.5 years old?

I bought it from the MG owners club in Swavesey which is also the location of the Castrol mail order representative in Cambridgeshire.

P.S. at £17 ish per litre, it is about half the price that the BMW dealers charge.

 

[Pukmeister]

I thought April 1st was last week.

 

[Engineer]

I thought April 1st was last week.

And the answers are?

 

[Pukmeister]

The oil will not go 'out of grade' sitting in a sealed container on a shelf, as it is not subject to shear forces or extremes of temperature.

There are bikes riding around built in 2004 with the original fill of SAF-XO in them, the owners are not worried if the oil in their sealed for life final drives has gone past its shelf-life.

The oil is £15 a litre including VAT from Bahnstormer Motorrad BTW.

 

[Engineer]

The oil will not go 'out of grade' sitting in a sealed container on a shelf, as it is not subject to shear forces or extremes of temperature.

There are bikes riding around built in 2004 with the original fill of SAF-XO in them, the owners are not worried if the oil in their sealed for life final drives has gone past its shelf-life.

The oil is £15 a litre including VAT from Bahnstormer Motorrad BTW.

Was just wondering if the anti-scuffing additives etc effectively last forever if left standing around. Guess there must be shelf life specified somewhere - looks like a call to Castrol is in order.

The oil is relatively expensive, but thought I'd use what BMW recommend as the 1200 gearbox is a bit different to the earlier ones in that it has hypoid gears and this stuff is apparently designed for them. Also want to be sure that the oil is compatible with the seals - wouldn't want a leak now!

 

[JohnU-IOW]

Opie Oils sell Castrol SAF-XO. About 15 quid for 1 ltr. 2-day carrier delivery 6 quid. Good bunch to deal with. Found `em on Flea Bay, then ordered via their web site.

 

[wilbjr21]

+1 Another recommendation for Opie Oils - UKGSer discount applies also.

 

[Bear]

I asked Castrol who to buy SAF-XO from and what its shelf-life is. This is what they said:



Subject: Castrol Enquiry


QUESTION : Where can I buy SAF-XO over the counter?. What
is the shelf life of an opened bottle of SAF-XO? I require this product
for a BMW motorcycle final drive. Halfords, who you suggest as a
stockist, do not list this product.



Hi Stewart

Not really an over the counter product that one - I would suggest trying
Castrol Classic oils - 01954 231668 or Opie oils - 01209 215164
These will be able to post you a small amount.

Of course - your BMW dealer should also carry some stocks ?

We have a rule of thumb of 3 years shelf life - but it can last much
longer - but the quality can't be guaranteed.

Kind regards


Andy Griffin
Automotive Lubricants Technical Advisor
http://www.castrol.com/uk

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[Engineer]

I asked Castrol who to buy SAF-XO from and what its shelf-life is. This is what they said:



Subject: Castrol Enquiry


QUESTION : Where can I buy SAF-XO over the counter?. What
is the shelf life of an opened bottle of SAF-XO? I require this product
for a BMW motorcycle final drive. Halfords, who you suggest as a
stockist, do not list this product.



Hi Stewart

Not really an over the counter product that one - I would suggest trying
Castrol Classic oils - 01954 231668 or Opie oils - 01209 215164
These will be able to post you a small amount.

Of course - your BMW dealer should also carry some stocks ?

We have a rule of thumb of 3 years shelf life - but it can last much
longer - but the quality can't be guaranteed.

Kind regards


Andy Griffin
Automotive Lubricants Technical Advisor
http://www.castrol.com/uk

Please consider the environment before printing this eMail


Link to Castrolindex.com + Castrol FIFA 2010 (TM) Logo

CASTROL, The Castrol Logo and IT'S MORE THAN JUST OIL IT'S LIQUID
ENGINEERING are protected by trade marks, copyright and/or design. All
rights reserved.
The FIFATM official logo is protected by trademarks, copyright and/or
design. All rights reserved

The information contained in this electronic transmission may be
confidential and/or privileged. Access to this electronic transmission
by anyone other than the intended recipient(s) is unauthorised. If you
have received it in error please notify the sender immediately. Please
then delete the e-mail and do not disclose its contents to any person.
Within the bounds of law electronic transmissions through internal and
external networks may be monitored to ensure compliance with internal
policies and legitimate businesses purposes.

Lubricants UK Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with
the company number 97216 and VAT Number GB 243 5105 93 and whose
registered office is Chertsey Road, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex, TW16
7BP

Thanks for that - seems like mine is out of date as it is marked (15/11/05)

I thought that it was worth checking - I will be taking it back to Castrol Classic Oils, from whence one purchased it on Saturday.

 

[Pukmeister]

I doubt they'll refund you, seeing as they are a classic oil seller I'd say that product fits the description.

 

[Engineer]

I doubt they'll refund you, seeing as they are a classic oil seller I'd say that product fits the description.

They have already agreed.

They have plenty of 'old classic' oils in stock too - you know that old dino oil that so many BMW owners swear by, even after the nth (where n is a large positive integer) engine rebuild .

 

[Bear]

Three year shelf life raises the question of how long the service life of a BMW final drive really is. Sealed for life?

 

[Pukmeister]

Three year shelf life raises the question of how long the service life of a BMW final drive really is. Sealed for life?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Steve E]

If its in an unopened container the shelf life may well be close to indefinate.
Castrol say three years but this is just them covering their backs and wanting the punter to spend more money.

Personaly I don't use the stuff as I have access to alternatives that are just as good and cost me very little.

Just use the stuff or buy a more economical alternative of which there are many out there.

Steve

 

[Steve E]

Three year shelf life raises the question of how long the service life of a BMW final drive really is. Sealed for life?

The shelf life would be in excess of three years in an unopened container.

The sealed for life is in my opinion a mistake that BMW have now rectified on later models by fitting a drain plug in the bottom. Once an oil is doing what it is designed to do, its life is finite as it starts to break down and lose its lubricating and protecting properties. As to when you change it, that is a different matter.

Personally I change all the oils (engine,gearbox and final drive) every 6000 miles but that is my preference.

Steve

 

[Engineer]

Just swapped the oil - no quibbles from Castrol Classic Oils in Swavesy (MG owners club). Went for EPX 80W90, API GL5 rating, which is the required rating for the gearbox (hypoid gears and all that). Date code of this oil is 02/04/08 so still well within its shelf life.

The 'out-of-date' SAF-XO would probably have been OK, but best to follow the manufacturers guidelines I reckon.

I suspect that the SAF-XO is not produced in high volume so might well sit around on the shelf for a long time before being sold - might be worth checking date codes if you buy any of this stuff for your gearbox or final drive.

 

[Toyo]

+1
same hiccup as Engineer-
I checked my oils from Castrol Classic Oils and found them also to be out-of- date . Now have to drain my gearbox and final drive on 1200 AND the front diff, gear box,transfer box and rear diff on Hilux again - arrrgghhhh

I spoke to Martin at CCO on 14th April and this morning, my replacement oils arrived. - No quibble - he apologised and said there had been stock rotation issues now corrected.
How refreshing it is to have a business with people who correct an error so quick-
They are keeping my custom. Thank you Martin

 

[Engineer]

+1
same hiccup as Engineer-
I checked my oils from Castrol Classic Oils and found them also to be out-of- date . Now have to drain my gearbox and final drive on 1200 AND the front diff, gear box,transfer box and rear diff on Hilux again - arrrgghhhh

I spoke to Martin at CCO on 14th April and this morning, my replacement oils arrived. - No quibble - he apologised and said there had been stock rotation issues now corrected.
How refreshing it is to have a business with people who correct an error so quick-
They are keeping my custom. Thank you Martin

I found the CCO people extremely helpful too - good to see that good customer service still exists.

 

[castrolman]

shelf life .. and stuff

Hello
Thought I'd better join in the fun - seeing as many of my emails from work to private individuals are now being posted on forums as general info :cool

I see I'm on here already ... ( a private email to a bloke in France if I remember correctly ! )

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91251

Chip oil ... yes, let me know how you get on with that one ..

Anyway - the 3 year rule of thumb is as I said in the email - a rule of thumb - virtually all oils are a carefully balanced mixture of additives and base oils ( detergents, dispersant, anti-foam, antioxidant, friction modifiers, Viscosity improvers, anti wear additives - to name a few ) to provide the right protection, performance and specification to enable to oil to function properly as it should - some of the additives used don't readily mix with each other, so they have to be skillfully blended so that they do. Over time, depending on the storage conditions, some of these additives can drop out of suspension, so the carefully blended package can loose some of it's performance ability. This isn't guaranteed to happen, and as I said in my email - the oil can be fine for longer, but after this time, some of the additives may have separated out so the quality and performance ability can't be guaranteed - the only way to be sure would be to have the oil analysed, which would probably cost more than new oil !

The other reason for the shelf life guide is that oil formulations can change, so a product that has been sat around on the shelf for a while, although it may have the same name, the latest version may meet different specifications that the older one doesn't.

I would suggest that with any oil that is older than a couple of years - a sensible thing is to turn the bottle gently a couple of times - then have a look - the oil should be clean and clear and bright - any streakyness, or sediment could be settled out additive - if the oil is cloudy or opaque - could be water in it. At the end of the day it's a judgment call regarding whether you want to risk using oil that you can't guarantee is 100%, or just buy some fresh oil. Ideally, you should buy only what you need to use - that way you will always be using fresh oil.

As suggested, SAF-XO is a high performance product and not a fast mover - hence CCO having some older stock - chances are, it would have been okay to use - but sensible to return for replacement if unsure - they do provide an excellent service and also stock the Act>Evo GP 20W-50 which is the current BMW recommended oil for the Boxer engines, as well as the normal bike specific oils - they stock the SAF-XJ full synthetic for the final drives too

here's their website if you've not found it ;

https://ssl11.lon.gb.securedata.net/classicoils.co.uk/merchantmanager/index.php?cPath=24

Simon and Guy at Opie are great blokes too - they are extremely knowledgable about oils and also carry plenty of stock.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/

Don't forget you can check up on oil recommendations on the Castrol website too - or drop me an email if you have specific questions via the Castrol website

www.castrol.com/uk

Hope that helps ?

Cheers

Andy Griffin
Castrol Technical

 

[JJH]

Hi Castrolman what do u do with the old oil? Next u will have a best before date on it. I will take some off your hands JJH