I've just come to the end of the oil I bought with my Raven in 2004. Hub has run fine, the tins had no use by date or date of manufacture to reference when any period would start. The labels on the new oil do have a date on them, though no use by date, they're also considerably different oils in appearance. The older oil did sperate a little, it just needed a shake before use. I had no qualms about using it, but neither am I suggesting you do.