ANOTHER ENGINE JOINS THE FRAY

January 27, 2010 Vol. 6, No. 2
The heavy-duty engine business, as if it wasn’t already pretty interesting, just got more so with the announcement that PACCAR’s 12.9-litre MX diesel will be on sale by this summer. With emissions control by a combination of selective catalytic reduction and exhaust gas recirculation to limit emissions. The MX will be offered in Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks with a horsepower range of 380 to 485 hp and torque outputs up to 1750 lb ft.

It is, of course, a European engine modified for North America, designed and built by PACCAR-owned DAF in the Netherlands, and about 125,000 of them are already in successful use in DAF and other vehicles around the world. It seems to be a particular favourite in Chinese buses, winning awards in the process.

DAF trucks have used SCR to meet Euro 4 and Euro 5 rules for several years, so the company is quite experienced with the technology.

The engines will be built in Holland in the foreseeable future, in an absolutely immaculate, state-of-the-art factory that I toured two years ago, though PACCAR did start building a dedicated engine plant in Mississippi in 2007. When the economy went south, that project was temporarily mothballed before it was finished and there has been speculation that it will be left that way. For the moment, no official word, though I’ll be driving the MX at the company’s test track near Seattle in a week’s time and may learn more then.

Another couple of questions arise with the formal announcement about the MX, one of them being how much of a dent will it put in Cummins sales in KW and Pete machines. With the demise of Caterpillar’s engine business, red engines have had a field day in PACCAR trucks, but that will obviously change somewhat come summer.

Another question, a simple technical one, concerns oil-drain intervals. I note that when installed in the DAF XF105 cabover, the MX design routinely allows service intervals to 90,000 km (about 56,000 miles). With synthetic oil and a centrifugal filter, DAF says intervals of up to 150,000 km (93,000 miles) can be had. That’s pretty much out there, and I’m wondering how much North American conditions will change those figures.

I’ll tell you more in a couple of weeks.

See www.paccar.com.

EATON WILL LAUNCH A RETROFIT PROGRAM FOR HYDRAULIC HYBRID powertrains in refuse trucks later this year, though I gather only Mack chassis are involved so far. The company is currently looking for partners and installers for the program.