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Feb 13, 2024

Deutz Tier 4 D2.9L4 Engine

What once was a manufacturer of tractors and farm equipment in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1962, is now an established manufacturer, distributor of diesel engine parts and a fully equipped rebuilder of

What once was a manufacturer of tractors and farm equipment in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1962, is now an established manufacturer, distributor of diesel engine parts and a fully equipped rebuilder of Deutz diesel engines. Based in Southlake, TX, Memo Corporation uses its extensive knowledge in the European diesel engine sector to specialize in replacement parts and rebuilt engines for Deutz, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz (Detroit Diesel), MAN (International), Kubota and Iveco.

Forthree decades, Memo’s niche has been to supply replacement parts and rebuiltengines worldwide for Deutz. Memo opened its U.S. distribution center inSouthlake, TX, in 1982. As the farming industry slowly diminished, Memo directedits efforts toward heavy-duty diesel engines and parts.

“Backin the late ‘80s, Memo tractors and engines were made in Yugoslavia,” says AhmedElborai, senior vice president, Memo Corporation. “The tractor that we were sellingat the time was sold under the Memo name. The engine inside of it was a torpedoengine, which was a Deutz licensed air-cooled engine. Due to the wars going onat the time, we basically had no way of getting tractors anymore. We had toreinvent the company, and we moved from selling tractors to selling engineparts.”

As the company evolved, Memo added to its parts sales and decided to start building engines about 20 years ago.

“Wehad the parts, we knew the engines, so we started building air-cooled enginesonly,” Elborai says. “Over the years, we got into 1011F/2011 series oil-cooled engines and the 1012/1013/2012 series water-cooled engines. We onlyrebuild Deutz engines and have built ourselves a little niche as being known for Deutz.”

“The engines we build most are the 912, 913, 914 series air-cooledengines,” says Geoff Gibson, vice president of sales, Memo Corporation. “Theygo in anything from trailer-mounted water pumps, power packs, irrigation, mining,etc. Our biggest business is probably the trailer-mounted water pumpapplication.”

Deutzengines and parts are used in a wide variety of industries. If one industry isdown, many others still need engines.

“Ifoil and gas are down, Deutz engines are still heavily usedin the ground support equipment for airlines,” Gibson says. “They’re also bigin the rental market and the agricultural and forestry market.”

Memo recently started rebuilding the 2.9/3.6 Tier 4 water-cooled Deutz engines. One of Memo’s most rebuilt engines is the Deutz 2.9, a diesel engine that comes in two different versions – a D2.9L4, which is naturally aspirated, and a TD2.9L4, which is turbocharged.

“Thoseare the two main engines we’re seeing now,” Elborai says. “They are Deutz Tier 4engines, so they’re common rail with EGR systems. The horsepower ranges from36kw to 55kw (48hp –74hp).”

Thenew Tier 4 engines enteredthe U.S. market around 2013-2014. The main owners of these engines at themoment are big rental equipment companies – they’re seen in lifts, skyjacks,trailer-mounted water pumps, ditch witches and airline baggage carts.

“Memo is arebuilder, so we take an engine and tear it all the way down,” Gibson says. “We don’tdo the machining in-house, so we send the block, crank and cylinder head out tobe magnafluxed, bored and machined as needed. It comes back to our rebuild line,and we have a team that builds the bottom end – putting in the crank, connectingrods, pistons, EGR, oil pump and front cover. Theyassemble it, then the engine gets passed to another team that completes the topend – the cylinder head, the manifold and other accessories. After this, itgoes to another team that preps it for the dyno.”

Memo’s Deutz 2.9 is rebuilt using a Pierburg EGR system, a Bosch fuel system, high-pressure pump and sensors, Mahle valves, Elring head gaskets, NPR piston rings, and Memo’s own pistons and bearings.

“On a2.9, we use parts from all sources, aftermarket and OEM, but we try to go with aftermarket more than OEM,” Elborai says. “We bore the engine oversize 0.5mm, andthen we’ll use our pistons with NPR rings.”

Withthe Deutz 2.9 engine used in so many different applications, the Memo team hasseen all kinds of engine issues come through the facility, but has noticedreoccurring issues.

“We’venoticed the EGR systems get clogged,” Gibson says. “These engines often sit inidle, so carbon builds up really bad. When the EGR gets clogged, itoverheats the engine.”

Asthose issues arise, Memo is there to rebuild these engines and get them backinto the many markets in which they’re used, helping businesses keep downtimeto a minimum.

Atypical rebuilt Deutz engine at Memo takes seven to 10 days, and Memo cranksout around 400-500 engine rebuilds a year.

The Engine of the Week eNewsletter issponsored by PennGrade Motor Oil and Elring – Das Original.

Ifyou have an engine you would like to highlight in this series, pleaseemail Engine Builder magazine’s managing editor, Greg Jonesat [email protected].