Active Standard ASTM D6984 | Developed by Subcommittee: D02.B0.01
Book of Standards Volume: 05.04
Historical (view previous versions of standard)
Significance and Use
5.1 This test method was developed to evaluate automotive engine oils for protection against oil thickening and engine wear during moderately high-speed, high-temperature service.
5.2 The increase in oil viscosity obtained in this test method indicates the tendency of an oil to thicken because of oxidation. In automotive service, such thickening can cause oil pump starvation and resultant catastrophic engine failures.
5.3 The deposit ratings for an oil indicate the tendency for the formation of deposits throughout the engine, including those that can cause sticking of the piston rings in their grooves. This can be involved in the loss of compression pressures in the engine.
5.4 The camshaft and lifter wear values obtained in this test method provide a measure of the anti-wear quality of an oil under conditions of high unit pressure mechanical contact.
5.5 The test method was developed to correlate with oils of known good and poor protection against oil thickening and engine wear. Specially formulated oils that produce less than desirable results with unleaded fuels were also used during the development of this test method.
5.6 The Sequence IIIF engine oil test has replaced the Sequence IIIE test and can be used in specifications and classifications of engine lubricating oils, such as:
5.6.1 Specification D4485,
5.6.2 Military Specification MIL-PRF-2104, and
5.6.3 SAE Classification J183.
1.1 This test method covers an engine test procedure for evaluating automotive engine oils for certain high-temperature performance characteristics, including oil thickening, varnish deposition, oil consumption, as well as engine wear. Such oils include both single viscosity grade and multiviscosity grade oils that are used in both spark-ignition, gasoline-fueled engines, as well as in diesel engines.
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.
1.2.1 Exceptions—The values stated in inches for ring gap measurements are to be regarded as standard, and where there is no direct SI equivalent such as screw threads, National Pipe Threads/diameters, tubing size, or single source supply equipment specifications.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory requirements prior to use.
1.4 This test method is arranged as follows:
2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.
D86 Test Method for Distillation of Petroleum Products at Atmospheric Pressure
D130 Test Method for Corrosiveness to Copper from Petroleum Products by Copper Strip Test
D235 Specification for Mineral Spirits (Petroleum Spirits) (Hydrocarbon Dry Cleaning Solvent)
D240 Test Method for Heat of Combustion of Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels by Bomb Calorimeter
D323 Test Method for Vapor Pressure of Petroleum Products (Reid Method)
D381 Test Method for Gum Content in Fuels by Jet Evaporation
D445 Test Method for Kinematic Viscosity of Transparent and Opaque Liquids (and Calculation of Dynamic Viscosity)
D525 Test Method for Oxidation Stability of Gasoline (Induction Period Method)
D1319 Test Method for Hydrocarbon Types in Liquid Petroleum Products by Fluorescent Indicator Adsorption
D2699 Test Method for Research Octane Number of Spark-Ignition Engine Fuel
D2700 Test Method for Motor Octane Number of Spark-Ignition Engine Fuel
D3231 Test Method for Phosphorus in Gasoline
D3237 Test Method for Lead in Gasoline by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
D3338 Test Method for Estimation of Net Heat of Combustion of Aviation Fuels
D3343 Test Method for Estimation of Hydrogen Content of Aviation Fuels
D4052 Test Method for Density, Relative Density, and API Gravity of Liquids by Digital Density Meter
D4175 Terminology Relating to Petroleum, Petroleum Products, and Lubricants
D4485 Specification for Performance of Active API Service Category Engine Oils
D4684 Test Method for Determination of Yield Stress and Apparent Viscosity of Engine Oils at Low Temperature
D4815 Test Method for Determination of MTBE, ETBE, TAME, DIPE, tertiary-Amyl Alcohol and C1 to C4 Alcohols in Gasoline by Gas Chromatography
D5185 Test Method for Determination of Additive Elements, Wear Metals, and Contaminants in Used Lubricating Oils and Determination of Selected Elements in Base Oils by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES)
D5191 Test Method for Vapor Pressure of Petroleum Products (Mini Method)
D5293 Test Method for Apparent Viscosity of Engine Oils and Base Stocks Between -5 and -35C Using Cold-Cranking Simulator
D5452 Test Method for Particulate Contamination in Aviation Fuels by Laboratory Filtration
D5453 Test Method for Determination of Total Sulfur in Light Hydrocarbons, Spark Ignition Engine Fuel, Diesel Engine Fuel, and Engine Oil by Ultraviolet Fluorescence
D5862 Test Method for Evaluation of Engine Oils in Two-Stroke Cycle Turbo-Supercharged 6V92TA Diesel Engine
D6557 Test Method for Evaluation of Rust Preventive Characteristics of Automotive Engine Oils
D6593 Test Method for Evaluation of Automotive Engine Oils for Inhibition of Deposit Formation in a Spark-Ignition Internal Combustion Engine Fueled with Gasoline and Operated Under Low-Temperature, Light-Duty Conditions
D6750 Test Methods for Evaluation of Engine Oils in a High-Speed, Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine--1K Procedure (0.4 % Fuel Sulfur) and 1N Procedure (0.04 % Fuel Sulfur)
D7320 Test Method for Evaluation of Automotive Engine Oils in the Sequence IIIG, Spark-Ignition Engine
D7422 Test Method for Evaluation of Diesel Engine Oils in T-12 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Diesel Engine
E29 Practice for Using Significant Digits in Test Data to Determine Conformance with Specifications
E191 Specification for Apparatus For Microdetermination of Carbon and Hydrogen in Organic and Organo-Metallic Compounds
E608/E608M Specification for Mineral-Insulated, Metal-Sheathed Base Metal Thermocouples
E1119 Specification for Industrial Grade Ethylene Glycol
G40 Terminology Relating to Wear and Erosion
IEEE/ASTM SI-10 Standard for Use of the International System of Units (SI): The Modern Metric System
Other DocumentCRC Manual 20 Rating Techniques and Breakdown Methods
SAE StandardsJ183 Engine Oil Performance and Engine Service Classification (Other Than Energy-Conserving) J300 Engine Oil Viscosity Classification *HS-23/00* J304 Engine Oil Tests
Military SpecificationMIL-PRF-2104 Lubricating Oil, Internal Combustion Engine, Tactical Service
ICS Number Code 75.100 (Lubricants, industrial oils and related products)
UNSPSC Code 15121501(Engine oil)