I'm repairing a 1987 Mercury 70hp. with auto mixing and the motor has set up for about 5yrs before I bought it. Should I drain the oil that is in the tank on the engine or does it not go bad?
is this engine actually oil injected or does it have a stand alone part called auto blend?
if it says auto blend and is between the oil tank and the engine scrap it.
there is a reason we renamed auto blend to auto blow.
As oil ages it will start to separate, but it will also change. There many additives that go into making oil, chemical reactions start as soon as they get mixed together, for a period of time everything will still be in spec and work OK, but over time they may break down and form other compounds or become ineffective. Sometimes they will even start to solidify or gel.
For a couple of bucks I can't see taking the risk.