CAT manufactured commercial truck diesel engines for many years but exited the business back in 2010. Their manufacturing still exists today, except they are done for various off-highway equipment and machines.

The goal of Diesel Laptops has been to provide clients with an easy and efficient way to lookup engine-related repair information. This typically means allowing a user to either enter a VIN or select a year, make, and model of the information they are looking for. The issue with Caterpillar is that they do not categorize their repair information this way. They categorize it by engine application (Truck, marine, military, etc…), engine model, and then engine prefix.

The engine prefix is the first 3 characters in the engine serial number. For example, SDP22671 has the prefix SDP. Quick research can tell us that this is a C15 engine, but what years of trucks did it go into? Caterpillar has never made this information available to the public, along with more details on what features those prefixes have. In this blog post, we hope to break all of that down for you.

We also need to have a quick conversation about production years, model years, and emission years. Often vehicles made in a current year, are classified as next year’s models. Most vehicle manufacturers flip their model years over at some point in the first couple months of the new year. For example, a truck built in March of 2020, could very well be the model year 2021. Truck order backlogs often fill up for months, or even years, at a time. This means you could be sitting here in December 2020 and receiving quotes on 2022 model years (Which would be available in early summer 2021).

To further muddy the waters, emission years often lag production years. The EPA set standards that engine manufacturers have had to meet since 2004. You now must line up engine manufacturing dates with vehicle manufacturing dates with model year changes. This all becomes even more problematic when we are trying to decode a VIN which gives us model years, not production nor emission years.

Caterpillar Truck Engine – C15

The CAT C15 was the replacement for the 3406E and was a very popular “big bore” 15-liter engine during its day. They have 3 “versions” of the C15 engines they made:

• C-15 (Pre-ACERT engines, with a dash between the C and the 15)
• C-15 Bridge (Engines in transition from pre-ACERT to ACERT)
• C15 ACERT (ACERT is the CAT technology to meet EPA 2004 & 2007 emission standards)

Based on our research, our team was able to categorize this as follows:

Engine Prefix	Model	First Built	Last Built	QTY Built	Model Years	Notes
6NZ	C-15	Jul 1998	Jun 2005	99,900	1998-2002	6NZ, 9NZ, MBN, & EGH have same fault code tables
9NZ	C-15	Jun 2005	Feb 2009	18,500	1998-2002	6NZ, 9NZ, MBN, & EGH have same fault code tables
MBN	C-15 Bridge	Dec 2001	Feb 2003	30,100	1998-2002	6NZ, 9NZ, MBN, & EGH have same fault code tables
EGH	C15 Acert	Dec 2002	Oct 2004	Less than 300	1998-2002	6NZ, 9NZ, MBN, & EGH have same fault code tables
BXS	C15 Acert	Mar 2003	Dec 2004	39,000	2003	First “True”Acerts
MXS	C15 Acert	Mar 2003	Jul 2006	100,000	2004-2006	Most popular C15 ACERT. One piece housings for engine brake & VVA’s
NXS	C15 Acert	Jul 2006	Apr 2009	33,000	2004-2006	NXS exact same as MXS. CAT ran out of serial numbers
RKS	C15 Acert	Sep 2008	Jan 2009	Less than 100	2004-2006	RKS same fault code tables as MXS & NXS
SDP	C15 Acert	Jan 2005	Mar 2009	22,700	2007-2010	Last C15 engine prefix built

Caterpillar Truck Engine – C12

The CAT C12 was the little brother to the CAT C15 engine, as it was a 12-liter engine with a maximum of 430HP from the factory.

Engine Prefix	Model	First Built	Last Built	QTY Built	Model Years	Notes
TYN	C-12	Nov 1994	Dec 1997	12,800	1994-1996	First C12’s made
9NS	C-12	Jan 1997	Feb 2004	20,200	1997-1998
2KS	C-12	Mar 1996	Apr 2006	99,500	1999-2003	2KS, CPD, & 8YF use the same fault codes
CPD	C-12	May 2001	Jun 2005	2,500	1999-2003	2KS, CPD, & 8YF use the same fault codes
BYF	C-12	Feb 2007	Sep 2009	3,100	1999-2003	2KS, CPD, & 8YF use the same fault codes

Caterpillar Truck Engine – C13

The CAT C13 replaced the CAT C12 engine and was a popular 13L engine that was built from 2004 until 2010 when CAT exited the on-highway diesel engine business.

Engine Prefix	Model	First Built	Last Built	QTY Built	Model Years	Notes
JAM	C13 ACERT	Jul 2005	May 2011	Less than 90	2004-2006	EPA 2004 Emissions, No DPF
KCB	C13 ACERT	Nov 2002	Jan 2010	94,000	2004-2006	EPA 2004 Emissions, No DPF
LEE	C13 ACERT	Jan 2005	Mar 2009	23,500	2007-2010	EPA 2007 Emissions, DPF, new air management system

Caterpillar Truck Engine – C9

The first several engine prefixes were built in exceptionally low quantities, so they were more than likely test engines. The 2004 emission engine was an 8.8L configuration and the 2007 model was a 9.3L. The 2007 model included Clean Gas Induction (CGI) and a particulate filter with Cat Regeneration System (CRS).

Engine Prefix	Model	First Built	Last Built	QTY Built	Model Years	Notes
ETK	C9	Jan 2005	Jul 2008	Less than 500
MTB	C9	Jan 2004	Dec 2006	1,000
CKP	C9	Apr 2003	Jun 2003	Less than 500
CKP	C9	Apr 2003	Jun 2003	Less than 500
9DG	C9	Aug 2000	Dec 2006	10,500	2004-2006	EPA 2004 Emissions
CKP	C9	Apr 2007	Dec 2008	1,200	2007-2010	EPA 2004 Emissions

Caterpillar Truck Engine –  C10

This engine was smaller than the C12 and was only used in production for a short period of time. This was a 10.3L engine and didn’t put up huge sales numbers.

Engine Prefix	Model	First Built	Last Built	QTY Built	Model Years	Notes
2PN	C10	Nov 1994	Aug 1998	7,300	1995-1997
8YS	C10	Mar 1997	Apr 2003	7,300	1998
3CS	C10	Jul 1996	Dec 1999	9,700	1999-2002	3CS & MBJ use exact same fault code tables
MBJ	C10	Oct 2002	Dec 2003	4,000	1999-2002	3CS & MBJ use exact same fault code tables

Caterpillar Truck Engine – C7

The CAT C7 was released in 2003 to meet engine emission standards and was a 7.2L medium-duty diesel engine. The CAT C7 was plagued with the same ACERT problems that CAT had in the other ACERT engines.

Engine Prefix	Model	First Built	Last Built	QTY Built	Model Years	Notes
YPG	C7	Nov 2004	Mar 2005	Less than 100
LBM	C7	Apr 2006	Oct 2008	700
KAL	C7	Oct 2002	Jul 2003	1,800	2003-2006
SAP	C7	Feb 2005	Jun 2005	21,500	2003-2006	3WAX, SAP, & KAL prefix are identical
WAX	C7	Aug 2005	Dec 2006	75,700	2003-2006	WAX, SAP,& KAL prefix are identical
CS7	C7	Feb 2005	Aug 2007	3,700	2007-2010	WAX, SAP,& KAL prefix are identical

Caterpillar Truck Engine – 3406E

The CAT 3406E was eventually split into the CAT C15 & C16 in 2000. The CAT C16 only made it a couple of years before being discontinued mainly due to emission standards that took place starting in 2004. The CAT C15 turned into the CAT C-15 ACERT engine eventually.

Engine Prefix	Model	First Built	Last Built	QTY Built	Model Years	Notes
SEK	3406E	Nov 1991	Jan 1997	99,300	1993-1997	6TS & 5EK almost identical, 6TS has steel top pistons; SEK aluminum
6TS	3406E	Jan 1997	Aug 1998	27,800	1993-1997	6TS & 5EK almost identical, 6TS has steel top pistons; SEK aluminum
5DS	3406E	Sept 1996	Jan 1999	1,000	1998	15.8L Engine
1LW	3406E	Dec 1997	May 2003	33,000	1998	14.6L Engine
1MM	3406E	Jun 2998	Dec 1999	1,300	1999-2000	15.8LEngine
2WS	3406E	Mar 1996	Dec 1999	42,700	1999-2000	14.6LEngine

Summary

Hopefully, our research has helped answer a question or two for you. If you are looking for diagnostic tools or repair information on CAT engines, you have come to the right place!

Our Diesel Repair platform contains repair information on fault codes, along with remove and replace instructions, torque specifications, wiring diagrams, component locators, and much more!

Our online store has all kinds of diagnostic tools for CAT engines, as we cover everything from handheld code readers to full blown dealer level diagnostic tools. Call, chat, or email us today and let us help find the right tool for you!