Perkins Engine Identification

Your Perkins serial number is on a metal data plate fixed to the engine block. Perkins places the plate on the left-hand side of most engines, but the position varies between engine series.

The data plate carries two numbers:

• Build number: two letters followed by five digits, such as PJ12345. It identifies the engine family and its exact build specification.
• Serial number: a country letter, a unique engine number and a year letter, such as U123456P.

You can see both on a real engine from our stock. Our Perkins 1204E carries build number MK83204 and serial number U013023C.

If the plate is worn or painted over, clean it before you read it. Perkins warns that some letters and numbers on the plate look alike, and that search tools won't recognise a number entered with spaces or asterisks.

Is your engine fitted to a Caterpillar machine? Cat plates show an arrangement number in place of a Perkins build number. Cat arrangement 294-7195, for example, sits close to Perkins builds NJ38641 and NJ38640.

Record the full number before you order a replacement engine or parts. We confirm fit using your machine serial number and the existing engine build prefix.

A Perkins engine number has five coded sections. Take MK83204U013023C from a 1204E in our stock:

• MK: the engine family and type code, here the 1204E-E44TA
• 83204: the build type number, which sets the exact specification
• U: the country of manufacture, here the UK. Other codes include B for Brazil, HC for China, N for the USA and S for India.
• 013023: the unique number for that individual engine
• C: the year of manufacture, here 2017

An R straight after the country letter, such as UR, marks a Perkins remanufactured engine. Check for this if you are buying a used engine.

The build number matters most when you buy a replacement. Two engines with the same model name can suit very different machines. Our 404D-22T build GP65433 is a variable speed complete engine, while build GP65977U is a fixed speed engine rated at 33.3 kW at 1,800 rpm.

Read the first two letters of the build number on your data plate, then match them to the engine family code. Common codes for engines we supply include:

• 400 Series: GJ 403D-11, GK 403D-15, HL 403C-15, IS 403J-17, IF 403J-17T, HP 404C-22, HR 404C-22T, GN 404D-22, GP 404D-22T
• 1000 Series: AA 1004-4, AR and AS 1004-42
• 1100 Series: RE 1104C-44, RG 1104C-44T, RJ 1104C-44TA, RK 1104C-E44TA, NL 1104D-44T, NM 1104D-44TA, NJ 1104D-E44TA
• 1200 Series: MK 1204E-E44TA

Next, use the five-digit build number to confirm the specification. Builds differ in flywheel housing, flywheel, engine mountings, manifolds, fuel system and PTO.

Your code may belong to a model Perkins no longer builds. Newer engines often replace older ones directly:

• Our 403D-15 GK30896U replaces the 403C-15 (HL) and 103.15 (KE).
• Our 1104D-44T NL38827 replaces 1104C-44T RG builds.

Can't read the plate? Send us your serial number and data plate photos, and we will identify the engine and quote a rebuild or replacement. Include your machine make, model and serial number to speed things up.

T means the engine is turbocharged. TA means turbocharged and aftercooled, the highest-output configuration in the 1104 range. No letters after the capacity figure means the engine is naturally aspirated, as on the 1104C-44.

The turbo changes how the engine performs. Our 403J-17T delivers stronger low-speed torque and better altitude performance than the naturally aspirated 403J-17.

Other letters you will see in Perkins model numbers:

• E after the hyphen: electronic control. No letter after the hyphen means a mechanical engine.
• The letter straight after the series number: the emissions standard the engine meets. In the 1104D, D marks EU Stage IIIA / US EPA Tier 3. It does not mean direct injection here. Our 403D-15 uses indirect injection.
• G at the end: an engine built for constant speed power generation.
• W, V and H: water-to-air charge cooling, V-form and horizontal engines.

That explains why the 1204E-E44TA has two Es. The first marks the emissions standard. The second marks electronic control.

Match the aspiration letters to your current engine before you buy. Moving from a naturally aspirated engine to a turbocharged one changes the intake, exhaust and cooling set-up in your machine.

The last letter of the serial number gives the year of manufacture. The letters repeat in cycles, so you need the engine's production years to pin down the exact year.

• First cycle: A for 1974 through Y for 1994
• Second cycle: A 1995, B 1996, C 1997, D 1998, E for January to March 1999 and F for April to December 1999, G 2000, H 2001, J 2002, K 2003, L 2004, M 2005, N 2006, P 2007, S 2008, T 2009, U 2010, V 2011, W 2012, X 2013, Y 2014
• Third cycle: A 2015, B 2016, C 2017, D 2018, E 2019, F 2020, G 2021, H 2022, J 2023

Perkins skips I, O, Q, R and Z, with two exceptions. Some engines carry R from before mid-January 2008, when Perkins switched to S. A limited number of engines built in early 2023 carry I.

Worked examples:

• RJ (1104C-44TA) ending in P: Perkins built the 1104C-44TA from 2004 to 2011, so P means 2007, not 1987.
• AR (1004-42) ending in K: Perkins built the 1004.42 from 1994 to 2004, so K means 2003.
• Our 1204E, serial U013023C: C means 2017, as 1976 and 1997 both predate the 1200 Series.

Not sure which cycle applies? Contact us with your full serial number and we will date the engine for you.