Significance and Use
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Specification D4485,
Military Specification MIL-PRF-2104, and
SAE Classification J183.
Scope
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.
Note 1—Companion test methods used to evaluate engine oil performance for specification requirements are discussed in SAE J304.
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:
| Subject | Section |
|---|---|
| Scope | 1 |
| Referenced Documents | 2 |
| Terminology | 3 |
| Summary of Test Method | 4 |
| Significance and Use | 5 |
| Apparatus | 6 |
| Laboratory | 6.1 |
| Drawings | 6.2 |
| Specified Equipment | 6.3 |
| Test Engine | 6.4 |
| Engine Parts | 6.4.1 |
| Engine Speed and Load Control | 6.5 |
| Sequence IIIF Fluid Conditioning Module | 6.6 |
| Engine Cooling System | 6.6.1 |
| Flushing Tank | 6.7 |
| Coolant Mixing Tank | 6.8 |
| Condenser Cooling Systems | 6.9 |
| Engine Oil-Cooling System | 6.10 |
| Fuel System | 6.11 |
| Induction Air Supply Humidity, Temperature, and Pressure | 6.12 |
| Temperature Measurement | 6.13 |
| Thermocouple Location | 6.13.1 |
| Air-to-Fuel Ratio Determination | 6.14 |
| Injector Flow Testing | 6.14.1 |
| Exhaust and Exhaust Back Pressure Systems | 6.15 |
| Blowby Flow Rate Measurement | 6.16 |
| Pressure Measurement and Sensor Location | 6.17 |
| Reagents and Materials | 7 |
| Test Fuel | 7.1 |
| Engine and Condenser Coolant | 7.2 |
| Coolant Additive | 7.3 |
| Coolant Preparation | 7.4 |
| Pre-Test Cleaning Materials | 7.5 |
| Sealing and Anti-seize Compounds | 7.6 |
| Test Oil Sample Requirements | 8 |
| Preparation of Apparatus | 9 |
| Condenser Cleaning | 9.1 |
| Intake Manifold Cleaning | 9.3 |
| Cleaning of Engine Parts (other than the block and heads) | 9.4 |
| Engine Block Cleaning | 9.5 |
| Cylinder Head Cleaning | 9.6 |
| Engine Build-up Procedure | 9.7 |
| General Information | 9.7.1 |
| Special Parts | 9.7.2 |
| Hardware Information | 9.7.3 |
| Fastener Torque Specifications and Torquing Procedures | 9.7.4 |
| Parts Replacement | 9.8 |
| Engine Block Preparation | 9.9 |
| Piston Fitting and Numbering | 9.10 |
| Piston Ring Fitting | 9.10.1 |
| Pre-Test Camshaft and Lifter Measurements | 9.11 |
| Camshaft Bearing Installation | 9.12 |
| Camshaft Installation | 9.13 |
| Main Bearings | 9.14 |
| Crankshaft Installation | 9.14.1 |
| Main Bearing Cap Installation | 9.14.2 |
| Crankshaft Sprocket | 9.15 |
| Camshaft Sprocket and Timing Chain | 9.16 |
| Crankshaft End Play | 9.17 |
| Piston Pin Installation | 9.18 |
| Piston Installation | 9.18.1 |
| Harmonic Balancer | 9.19 |
| Connecting Rod Bearings | 9.20 |
| Engine Front Cover | 9.21 |
| Coolant Inlet Adapter | 9.22 |
| Oil Dipstick Hole | 9.23 |
| Oil Pan | 9.24 |
| Cylinder Head Assembly | 9.25 |
| Adjustment of Valve Spring Loads | 9.26 |
| Cylinder Head Installation | 9.27 |
| Hydraulic Valve Lifters | 9.28 |
| Pushrods | 9.29 |
| Valve Train Loading | 9.30 |
| Intake Manifold | 9.31 |
| Rocker Covers | 9.32 |
| Water Inlet Adapter | 9.33 |
| Condenser | 9.34 |
| Coolant Outlet Adapter | 9.35 |
| External Oil Cooling System | 9.36 |
| Oil Sample Valve | 9.37 |
| Ignition System | 9.38 |
| Throttle Body | 9.39 |
| Accessory Drive Units | 9.40 |
| Exhaust Manifolds, Water-Cooled | 9.41 |
| Engine Flywheel | 9.42 |
| Pressure Checking of Engine Coolant System | 9.43 |
| Lifting of Assembled Engines | 9.44 |
| Mounting the Engine on the Test Stand | 9.45 |
| External Cooling System Cleaning | 9.46 |
| Engine Coolant Jacket Cleaning (Flushing) | 9.47 |
| Coolant Charging | 9.48 |
| Test Oil Charging | 9.49 |
| Engine Oil Pump Priming | 9.50 |
| Calibration | 10 |
| Laboratory and Engine Test Stand Calibration | 10.1 |
| Testing of Reference Oils | 10.2 |
| Reference Oil Test Frequency | 10.3 |
| Reporting of Reference Oil Test Results | 10.4 |
| Evaluation of Reference Oil Test Results | 10.5 |
| Status of Non-Reference Oil Tests Relative to Reference Oil Test | 10.6 |
| Status of Test Stands Used for Non-Standard Tests | 10.7 |
| Data Acquisition and Control | 10.8 |
| Sample Rate | 10.8.1 |
| Measurement Accuracy | 10.8.2 |
| Temperature | 10.8.3 |
| Pressure | 10.8.4 |
| Flow | 10.8.5 |
| Speed | 10.8.6 |
| Load | 10.8.7 |
| Measurement Resolution | 10.8.8 |
| System Time Response | 10.8.9 |
| Quality Index | 10.8.10 |
| Engine Operating Procedure | 11 |
| Dipstick and Hole Plug | 11.1 |
| Dipstick Hole O-ring | 11.2 |
| Engine Start-up and Shutdown Procedures | 11.3 |
| Start-up | 11.4 |
| Scheduled Shutdown | 11.5 |
| Non-Scheduled Shutdowns | 11.6 |
| Oil Sampling | 11.7 |
| Oil Leveling | 11.8 |
| Air-to-Fuel-Ratio Measurement and Control | 11.9 |
| Air-to-Fuel Ratio Verification | 11.10 |
| Blowby Flow Rate Measurement | 11.11 |
| NOx Determinations | 11.12 |
| Data Recording | 11.13 |
| Initial Run (10 min) | 11.14 |
| Engine Oil Quality Testing (80 h) | 11.15 |
| Test Termination | 11.16 |
| Determination of Test Results | 12 |
| Engine Disassembly | 12.2 |
| Preparation of Parts for Rating of Sticking, Deposits, and Plugging | 12.3 |
| Piston Deposit Rating | 12.4 |
| Post-Test Camshaft and Lifter Wear Measurements | 12.5 |
| End-of Test Used Oil Sample Testing | 12.6 |
| Viscosity Test | 12.7 |
| Testing Oil Samples for Wear Metals | 12.8 |
| Blowby Flow Rate Measurements | 12.9 |
| Oil Consumption Computation | 12.10 |
| Photographs of Test Parts | 12.11 |
| Retention of Representative Test Parts | 12.12 |
| Severity Adjustments | 12.13 |
| Determination of Operational Validity | 12.14 |
| Report | 14 |
| Report Forms | 14.1 |
| Precision of Reported Units | 14.2 |
| Deviations from Test Operational Limits | 14.3 |
| Precision and Bias | 15 |
| Keywords | 16 |
| Annexes | |
| The Role of the ASTM Test Monitoring Center (TMC) and the Calibration Program | Annex A1 |
| Sequence IIIF Test Parts Replacement Guidelines | Annex A2 |
| Sequence IIIF Determination Volume of Engine Oil in Pan | Annex A3 |
| Sequence IIIF Test Fuel Analysis | Annex A4 |
| Sequence IIIF Test Reporting | Annex A5 |
| Sequence IIIF Test Air-to-Fuel Ratio Control Flow Chart | Annex A6 |
| Sequence IIIF Test Set Points and Control States | Annex A7 |
| Sequence IIIF Quality Index Upper and Lower Values | Annex A8 |
| Sequence IIIF Engine Oil Level Worksheet | Annex A9 |
| Blowby Flow Rate Determination | Annex A12 |
| Safety Precautions | Annex A12 |
| Sequence IIIF Blueprint Listing | Annex A13 |
| Fluid Conditioning Module Components | Annex A14 |
| Appendix | |
| Sequence IIIFHD Test Procedure | Appendix X1 |
| Sequence IIIFVIS Test Procedure | Appendix X2 |
