EPA Tier Regulations

Diesel engines are much more prevalent in Europe than in the United States, however that love affair has softened in recent years. In the wake of the VW “Dieselgate” as well as increased environmental pressure from regulators, diesel has had a bit of an image problem. Great Britain is moving forward from its reliance on diesel with a new biofuels program. The British Biofuel sector hopes to double the use of renewable fuels in the over-the-road trucking industry within the next 15 years and significantly reduce the amount of diesel fuel imported into the country. ... read more »

There is no standard diesel engine for every application. For example there are industrial applications, truck application, electrical power generation, RV applications, heavy duty emergency, pumps and of course marine applications. Although, each engine is slightly different the core design is the same. The exhaust, cooling, electrical and fuel systems are all different in marine engines. This article will discuss the differences between industrial diesel engines and their marine counterparts. ... read more »

Technology is progressing at an ever increasing rate. The future is now! It seems you can’t go a day without reading about robots, self driving cars or even the new Hyperloop projects which will transport people hundreds of miles in mere minutes. Many of those in the automotive and transportation sectors believe diesel engines best days are behind them. A team of scientists however believe there is still use left for the diesel engines in the world of tomorrow. A team of researchers at Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland are working on a different fuel source for the engines known as Dimethyl Ether (DME). DME is a biofuel derived from methane. Methane is commonly captured from decomposing organic material, agriculture, waste and coal and reused as a fuel source. DME is viewed as a clean diesel fuel source and will be able to be used with existing diesel engines. ... read more »

China has a notorious reputation for extremely polluted air. The air quality is so bad most days that citizens must wear masks outdoors. As the country evolves, tackling the emission issue has become a primary issues for the government. It was announced on June 30th that China will join the rest of the modern world by banning general diesel fuel with Sulphur containing more than 50 parts per million. The diesel fuel will ban will affect tractors, ships and off-road vehicles rather than automobiles. ... read more »

The Cummins N-14 is a great engine; quite possibly the best Cummins engine ever produced. These engines are the stuff dreams are made of if you’re an old school guy looking for reliability. No doubt, the N14 is part of “1,000,000 mile club”. The engine features the best of engineering fundamentals mixed with one of the first electronic control system. First designed in the late 1980s it was sent into full production in 1991. The N14 engine is the follow up to the vastly popular Cummins 855 Big Cam which was produced 1976-1985. Cummins listened to it customers and designed a more powerful version of the 855 while maintaining a similar profile and bore/stroke architecture. Overall, the biggest structural difference between the 855 and N14 is the air-to-air cooling system changes but both engines are very similar. ... read more »

We all know of the emissions issues that surround the diesel engine community. It has been a battle between the EPA, Manufacturers and Consumers for well over 20 years now. Physics.org has just broken a story that might revolutionize the industry in terms of emissions control. Scientists at Loughborough University’s School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering have developed new technology that further converts NOx exhaust into harmless nitrogen and water. The problem with current emissions technology is that it doesn’t fully burn emissions particles a lower temperature points. The standard Selective Catalytic Reduction System (SCR) takes exhaust gas and further recirculates it through the combustion chamber to burn off larger hydrocarbon chains. ... read more »

Rollin’ Coal… nothing more wild than driving down the highway blasting a little black smoke from 7 inch chrome stacks. There has been much debate in recent years as to the health and well being of general public. Rolling Coal itself is not illegal however as of July 2014 the EPA stated that any modifications that bypass or defeats or renders emission control systems is illegal. Older manual pre-emissions engines, without modern day emission systems, have been grandfathered in and thus street legal. All vehicles regardless of modifications must pass emissions requirements per the year they were manufactured. ... read more »

The diesel engine industry has encountered many changes over the past 20 years or with the advent of the EPA Tier Emissions Regulations on first enacted in 1994. Since then, the regulations and standards of allowable NOx emissions have gotten more strict thus forcing engine manufacturers to make drastic engineering changes to their products. The early years were difficult for the manufactures as emissions technology was often cumbersome, prone to maintenance issues and expensive. However, the DPF, EGR and SCR systems have all gotten much better as the major players in the industry learned to adapt. ... read more »

In the heavy duty equipment world there has always been an unspoken battle between the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and the Aftermarket and/or Independent Dealers. The rift goes back roughly 100 years when the first automotive dealers began popping up in mass. Ford, GM, Chrysler as well as long gone brands like Plymouth, Auburn and Hudson all kept an efficient supply chain including the service department, dealership, wholesaler and manufacturer. ... read more »

More than 5 months ago the State of Colorado made history with the debut of the first self-driving tractor trailer test drive in the U.S. The test paired up infamous beer produce Budweiser with Uber Technologies. The tractor trailer was packed with 50,000 beers and drove successfully from Fort Collins, CO to Colorado Springs, CO a trip that encompassed over 120 miles. The journey was accompanied by the Highway Patrol and encountered no problems. ... read more »

At the turn of the century there was a lot of buzz around a new diesel engine being produced at Caterpillar, one that could meet the growing emissions requirements enacted by the EPA. The Caterpillar C7 Engine was supposed to be the “golden child” in Caterpillar diesel engine lineup; one that combined raw horsepower with computer controlled clean emissions. However, sometimes things don’t go according to plan. The engine was produced from 2003 to 2009 and was installed primarily in over the road medium duty class 8 trucks. All of the big players in the trucking industry hopped on board hoping the CAT C7 was going to live up to the hype. Paccar Freightliner, Ford and GMC all purchased the engine in droves ... read more »

On Thursday, January 12, 2017 the Environmental Protection Agency set forth motions to open an investigation against automaker Fiat Chrysler over allegations of cheating emissions regulations with their diesel engines models. The EPA stated that the automaker knowingly used undisclosed software that allowed excess emissions on 104,000 diesel powered Jeep SUVs and Dodge Ram Trucks between model years 2014-2016. ... read more »

The key to the remanufacturing business is core supply. As the years roll by the supply of older CAT, Cummins, Detroit, International and John Deere Cores will slowly dwindle. Many of the diesel engines still on the road today such as CAT 3126, C7, C13, Cummins 855, N14, and the Detroit Series 60 Engines are now 25-30 years old. Even the popular dual cam Cummins ISX engine is 16 years old now, first introduced in 2001. ... read more »

Powerhouse engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. has made public this week that it is introducing a complete comprehensive three-year warranty for its famous B Series 6.7 L diesel engine. The base level warranty covers the same comprehensive coverage for parts and labor on standard engine failures as the old warranty. It also covers some warrantable failures for the emissions after treatment systems. The warranty is unlimited miles but is only good in North America. In addition to the extended engine warranty, an additional towing and travel coverage has been increased from one to three years. The towing and travel coverage includes no deductible and consumables used in the repair will be billed at no charge. Customers can now purchase extended warranties up to 300,000 miles or 7 years if they choose at a much lower cost than before. ... read more »

Cummins is in some hot water recently as it was announced Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is suing the engine manufacturer for $60 million dollars. The basis of the lawsuit is in regards to the selective catalyst reduction system (SRC) on Dodge Ram 2013-2015 models. The Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resource Board have both come to the same conclusion that the SRC systems are defective and do not meet the current tier emission laws. ... read more »