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Maintenance Management: Tier 3 off road

June 12, 2007 |

Between January 1, 2006, and January 1, 2007, a new generation of low-emission Tier 3 diesel engines will begin rolling off assembly lines. There won’t be any surprises as far as the technology and performance of these engines – most of the technology was decided on in 2002. Caterpillar is forging ahead with its ACERT (Advanced Combustion Emissions Reduction Technology) and the rest of the OEMs are producing Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) designs or manipulating fuel injection for more complete combustion.

With low-sulfur fuel coming down the pikes, these technologies will meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions requirements for off-road engines without modifications or after-treatment devices until Tier 4 comes due in 2011.

Yet even though the engines’ designs are established, a lot of related technology is changing between now and the advent of Tier 4. For example:

Some regions of the country are setting their own emissions standards, which will require the installation of aftermarket devices on heavy equipment with pre-Tier 3 engines.
New heavy-duty diesel lube oil standards are being finalized for adoption in late 2006.
The sulfur content of off-road diesel fuel is going to drop from the current level of around 3,000 parts per million to 500 ppm in 2007 and then 15 ppm in 2011.