IN THE BAY
What’s your engine
aftertreatment
service plan look like?
Stop avoiding aftertreatment service and
face it head on by asking the right questions
and following proper procedures.
By Erica Schueller, Editor-in-Chief
ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN
o you know the failure rate for your aft ertreatment
systems? You’d be surprised how many fl eets don’t.
“It used to be that exhaust was way down the
line items on expense for a fl eet,” says Randy
Griffi th, sales and tech manager for Emission &
Cooling Solutions. “Now it’s up there with oil and
tires and fuel.”
Emission & Cooling Solutions works with fl eets
to implement training and DPF service programs
for heavy duty aft ertreatment systems.
“We preach total aft ertreatment cost,” he says.
“It’s not about the cost of the DPF cleaning as
much as it is how much is it costing to maintain
your entire fl eet on this segment?”
Overview of the
aftertreatment system
Beginning in calendar year 2007, heavy duty
diesel-powered vehicles began using exhaust
aft ertreatment technology to meet more stringent
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
on-highway emissions standards.
Th e updated emissions standards included a
signifi cant reduction in particulate matter and
nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions emitted from
heavy duty diesel vehicles. Particulate matter
includes soot, unburned hydrocarbons, ash
or sulfate.
Th e particulate matter emission standard took
full eff ect in 2007. Th e NOx standard was phased
in for diesel engines between 2007 and 2010.
Diesel engines with aft ertreatment systems
must use ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) — which
was another U.S. EPA standard designed to help
26 Fleet Maintenance | November/December 2018
reduce pollutants in conjunction with limiting
emissions. If a higher concentration of sulfur is
in the fuel, it could cause damage to the aft ertreatment
system.
Heavy duty diesel engine aftertreatment
systems were introduced as a solution to aid in
reducing both particulate matter and NOx emissions
since the pre-2007 fuel system, air handling
and combustion technologies were unable to
complete this task up to government standards.
Generally speaking, the heavy duty diesel
engine aftertreatment system has two primary
components: the exhaust aftertreatment technology
— which includes the diesel oxidation
catalyst (DOC) and diesel particulate filter (DPF)
— to reduce and mitigate particulate matter;
D
» Air intake issues, such as a
leak, can cause a decrease in air
volume further down the system.
Photo courtesy of Redline Detection
» A high-pressure smoke machine can aid in
diagnosing an air leak, according to Randy
Griffith of Emission & Cooling Solutions.
Photo courtesy of Redline Detection