ASTM D7549-16 - 1.4.2016
 
Significance and Use

5.1 This test method assesses the performance of an engine oil with respect to control of piston deposits and maintenance of oil consumption under heavy-duty operating conditions selected to accelerate deposit formation in a turbocharged, intercooled four-stroke-cycle diesel engine equipped with a combustion system that minimizes federally controlled exhaust gas emissions.

5.2 The results from this test method may be compared against specification requirements to ascertain acceptance.

5.3 The design of the test engine used in this test method is representative of many, but not all, diesel engines. This factor, along with the accelerated operating conditions, needs to be considered when comparing test results against specification requirements.

 
1. Scope

1.1 The test method covers a heavy-duty engine test procedure under high output conditions to evaluate engine oil performance with regard to piston deposit formation, piston ring sticking and oil consumption control in a combustion environment designed to minimize exhaust emissions. This test method is commonly referred to as the Caterpillar C13 Heavy-Duty Engine Oil Test.3

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—Where there are no SI equivalent such as screw threads, National Pipe Treads (NPT), and tubing sizes.

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 limitations prior to use. See Annex A1 for general safety precautions.

 
2. Referenced Documents

E178-21

Standard Practice for Dealing With Outlying Observations

D5967-21

Standard Test Method for Evaluation of Diesel Engine Oils in T-8 Diesel Engine

D5185-26

Standard Test Method for Multielement Determination of Used and Unused Lubricating Oils and Base Oils by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES)

D5186-24

Standard Test Method for Determination of the Aromatic Content and Polynuclear Aromatic Content of Diesel Fuels By Supercritical Fluid Chromatography

D2274-14(2019)

Standard Test Method for Oxidation Stability of Distillate Fuel Oil (Accelerated Method)

D2709-22

Standard Test Method for Water and Sediment in Middle Distillate Fuels by Centrifuge

D3524-14(2020)

Standard Test Method for Diesel Fuel Diluent in Used Diesel Engine Oils by Gas Chromatography

D2622-26

Standard Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum Products by Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

D4052-22

Standard Test Method for Density, Relative Density, and API Gravity of Liquids by Digital Density Meter

D4175-24e1

Standard Terminology Relating to Petroleum Products, Liquid Fuels, and Lubricants (Includes all amendments and changes 11/19/2024).

D4294-24

Standard Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum and Petroleum Products by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

D4739-23

Standard Test Method for Base Number Determination by Potentiometric Hydrochloric Acid Titration

ASTM Deposit Rating Manual 20

(formerly CRC Manual 20) For Stock #TMCMNL20, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or contact ASTM International Customer Service at service@astm.org.

D6078-04

Standard Test Method for Evaluating Lubricity of Diesel Fuels by the Scuffing Load Ball-on-Cylinder Lubricity Evaluator (SLBOCLE)

D6681-23

Standard Test Method for Evaluation of Engine Oils in a High Speed, Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine—Caterpillar 1P Test Procedure

D6987-D6987M-13

Standard Test Method for Evaluation of Diesel Engine Oils in T-10 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Diesel Engine

E29-22

Standard Practice for Using Significant Digits in Test Data to Determine Conformance with Specifications

D5453-25

Standard Test Method for Determination of Total Sulfur in Light Hydrocarbons, Spark Ignition Engine Fuel, Diesel Engine Fuel, and Engine Oil by Ultraviolet Fluorescence

D482-25

Standard Test Method for Ash from Petroleum Products

D524-15(2025)e1

Standard Test Method for Ramsbottom Carbon Residue of Petroleum Products (Includes all amendments and changes 8/11/2025).

D613-25a

Standard Test Method for Cetane Number of Diesel Fuel Oil (Includes all amendments and changes 11/6/2025).

D664-24

Standard Test Method for Acid Number of Petroleum Products by Potentiometric Titration

D975-26b

Standard Specification for Diesel Fuel (Includes all amendments and changes 3/31/2026).

D976-21e1

Standard Test Method for Calculated Cetane Index of Distillate Fuels (Includes all amendments and changes 2/23/2023).

D1319-25

Standard Test Method for Hydrocarbon Types in Liquid Petroleum Products by Fluorescent Indicator Adsorption

D86-23ae2

Standard Test Method for Distillation of Petroleum Products and Liquid Fuels at Atmospheric Pressure (Includes all amendments and changes 11/4/2024).

D93-26

Standard Test Methods for Flash Point by Pensky-Martens Closed Cup Tester

D97-17b(2022)

Standard Test Method for Pour Point of Petroleum Products (Includes all amendments and changes 11/29/2022).

D130-26

Standard Test Method for Corrosiveness to Copper from Petroleum Products by Copper Strip Test

D235-22

Standard Specification for Mineral Spirits (Petroleum Spirits) (Hydrocarbon Dry Cleaning Solvent)

D445-24

Standard Test Method for Kinematic Viscosity of Transparent and Opaque Liquids (and Calculation of Dynamic Viscosity)