Perkins Engine Number Guide — Country, Year & Family Code Lookup

Perkins industrial diesel engines power a vast range of UK construction and agricultural equipment, from JCB Loadalls and 3CX backhoes through to gensets, marine craft and trucks. The Perkins engine number tells you the engine family, the country it was built in, the year of manufacture, the engine serial number and (on some series) a parts list / SOS reference. This guide walks through how to read every part of that number, with full lookup tables.

How to read a Perkins engine number

For engines under 2 litres per cylinder produced after 1974, a typical Perkins number looks like this:

PJ 12345 U 123456 P

Section	Example	Meaning
Engine family and type code	PJ	1106D-E66TA (see family code table below)
Parts-list / SOS reference	12345	Build / order reference
Country of manufacture code	U	UK (see country table below)
Engine serial number	123456	Six-digit serial unique within family/year
Year of manufacture code	P	2007 (see year table below)

For engines larger than 2 litres per cylinder (Pre-1994 large engines, 2000/3000 series, 2300/2500/2800 series, and 4000 series) the format is different — see the Large engine numbers section further down.

Where to find the engine number

The serial number is stamped onto the cylinder block in a position that varies by engine family. Reference letters from A to Z map to physical positions on the engine — the diagram in the original Perkins guide (PDF download below) shows each position.

Position	Engine family
A	4.108
B	4.154 / 200 Series
C	4.236 / 4.212 / 4.248 / 900 / 4.165
D	6.354
E	Prima / 500 Series
F	4.318 / 6.247
G	4.165
H	4.41 / Phaser / 1000 / 1100 (A/B/C) Series
I or O	Peregrine / 1300 Series
J	4.203 / Phaser / 1000 / 1100 (A/B/C) Series
K	700 / 800 Series
LV	4.236
M	3.152
N	4.203
O	Perama / 100 / 400 Series
P	V8.640
Q	V8540

Reference page 1 — country and year codes:

Country of Manufacture Codes

Code	Country		Code	Country
A	Argentina		M / MX	Mexico
B	Brazil		N	USA
C	Australia		P	Poland
D	Germany		S	India
E	Spain		SA	South Africa
F	France		T	Turkey
G	Greece		U	UK
H	Group / China (HC)		V	Pakistan
HK	Iraq		W	Iran
HM	Indonesia		X	Peru
HU	Uruguay		Y	Yugoslavia
J	Japan
K	Korea
L	Italy

Year of Manufacture Codes

The letters I, O, Q, R and Z are not used. The cycle repeats once at 1995 — so a year letter on its own is not unique; you need to confirm the era from the engine family code or the build location.

First cycle — 1974 to 1994

Code	Year		Code	Year
A	1974		M	1985
B	1975		N	1986
C	1976		P	1987
D	1977		S	1988
E	1978		T	1989
F	1979		U	1990
G	1980		V	1991
H	1981		W	1992
J	1982		X	1993
K	1983		Y	1994
L	1984

Second cycle — 1995 onwards

Code	Year		Code	Year
A	1995		K	2003
B	1996		L	2004
C	1997		M	2005
D	1998		N	2006
E	1 Jan – 31 Mar 1999		P	2007
F	1 Apr – 31 Dec 1999		S	2008
G	2000
H	2001
J	2002

Engine Family and Type Codes (Engines < 2 L / cylinder, post-1974)

Reference page 2 of the original guide:

The two-letter prefix on the engine number tells you the family and type:

Phaser / 1004 Series & New 1000 Series (A_)

Code	Engine		Code	Engine
AA	1004-4		AJ	1004-40
AB	1004-4T		AK	1004-40T
AC	1004-4T		AL	1004-40TA
AD	1004e-4TW		AM	1004-40T
AE	Fed. CC		AP	1004-40
AF	1004-40S		AQ	1004-40T
AG	1004-4		AR	1004-42
AH	1004-4T		AS	1004-42
			AT	1004-40TA

Prima / 500 Series (B_)

Code	Engine
BA	504-2
BB	504-2T

3.152 Series (C_) and 900 Series (CP–CT)

Code	Engine		Code	Engine
CA	P3		CP	903-27
CB	3.144		CR	903-27T
CC	P3.144		CS	903-25
CD	3.152		CT	903-27S
CE	D3.152
CF	G3.152
CG	P3.152
CJ	3.1522
CM	3.1524
CN	T3.1524

1103 Series (DC–DK / XG–XM)

Code	Engine		Code	Engine
DC	1103C-33		XG	1103D-E33
DD	1103C-33T		XH	1103D-E33T
DE	1103C-33TA		XJ	1103D-E33TA
DF	1103B-33		XK	1103D-33
DG	1103B-33T		XL	1103D-33T
DJ	1103A-33		XM	1103D-33TA
DK	1103A-33T

1104 Series (NH–NM / RE–RT)

Code	Engine		Code	Engine
NH	1104D-E44T		RE	1104C-44
NJ	1104D-E44TA		RF	1104C-E44
NK	1104D-44		RG	1104C-44T
NL	1104D-44T		RH	1104C-E44T
NM	1104D-44TA		RJ	1104C-44TA
			RK	1104C-E44TA
			RR	1104A-44
			RS	1104A-44T
			RT	1104A-44TA

1106 Series (PJ–PK / VK)

Code	Engine
PJ	1106D-E66TA
PK	1106C-E66TA
VK	1106C-E60TA

1300 Series Peregrine & EDi (W_)

Code	Engine		Code	Engine
WB	1306-8T		WK	1306-E76T
WC	1306-8TA		WL	1306-E76TA
WD	1306-7T		WM	1306-E87T
WE	1306-7TA		WN	1306-E87TA
WF	1306-8T NGD		WP	1306-E76T
WG	1306-8TA NGD		WQ	1306-E76TA
WH	1306-9T NGD		WR	1306-E87T
WJ	1306-9TA NGD		WS	1306-E87TA

1300 Series tip: 1300 Series engines have a different serial number format. They have 7 digits after the middle letter (which is N or P), and there is no year letter at the end — e.g. WS 4486 P 1354691.

Other common families

Code	Family
E	4.108
G	4.154 / 200 Series / 400D
H	4.165 / 400C Series
J	4.203
K	Perama / 100 Series
L	4.236 / 4.212 / 4.41
N	4.318
R	6.247
SD	Sabre CC
T	6.354
U	700 / 800 / 800D Series
V	1106C
Y	Phaser / 1006 Series / New 1000 Series
X	V8.540 Series / 1103D Series
Z	V8.640 Series

Peterborough finishing list: Peterborough-built engines may show a finishing list on the engine plate (e.g. F1895). It is very important to quote this when ordering parts.

PK Series note: PK Series engines are derived from the 1106D Series platform but are only Stage II EU 2007 genset-emissions compliant.

Large engines — 2000/3000 series, 2300/2500/2800 series & 4000 series

Reference page 3 of the original guide:

For engines greater than 2 litres per cylinder, the format depends on the era and family.

Pre-1994 large engines

8C 27655 U 88900 W

Section	Example	Meaning
Engine family & type code	8C	Eagle / 2000 Series (see large-engine codes below)
Engine specification number	27655	Build spec
Country of manufacture	U	UK
Build line number	88900	Production line sequence
Year of manufacture	W	1992

Engine number positions (Pre-1994 large engines):

Position	Series
R	Eagle / 2000 Series
T	3008 Series
S	3012 Series
W	2300 / 2500 / 2800 Series
U	4006 / 4008 Series
V or X	4012 / 4016 Series

2000 / 3000 / 2300 / 2500 / 2800 Series (post-1994)

SG A 06 0010 U 0001 Y

Section	Example	Meaning
Engine application	SG	Genset application
Engine family & type code	A	(See large-engine code table below)
Number of cylinders	06	6 cylinders
Engine specification number	0010	Build spec
Country of manufacture	U	UK
Build line number	0001	Sequence
Year of manufacture	Y	(uses the post-1995 cycle)

4000 Series

DGB 06 0081 U 0017 B

Section	Example	Meaning
Application code (Genset)	DG	Genset family
Engine type	B	TAG2 (DGB code)
Number of cylinders	06	6 cylinders
Fixed bill number	0081	0000 = configured product
Country of manufacture	U	UK
Build sequence in year	0017	17th engine this year
Year letter	B	1996

Large engine specification suffix codes

Code	Meaning
A	Air-to-air charge cooled
C	Compensated
CC	Charge cooled
CHP	Combined heat & power
D	Direct injection
E	Externally charge cooled / Electronic
F	Federal Emissions / FF Federal
G	Genset / Gasoline / Gas
H	Horizontal
I	Intercooled
K	Keel cooled
M	Marine
N	Jacket-water charge cooled / Narrow front end
P	Pumping duties / Timing chain
R	Remote cooled
S	Spark ignition
SI	Spark ignition
T	Turbocharged
TT	Twin turbocharged
U	Unit injection
V	V form
W	Water cooled / Water-to-air charge cooled
H16	16 litre (2800 Series)
E*	Electronic / Litres

What to record before ordering Perkins parts

• Full engine number — including the parts-list / SOS reference, country code, serial and year letter.
• Finishing list (e.g. F1895) where the engine plate shows one.
• Engine family (1004, 1006, 1103, 1104, 1106, 1306, etc.) — derive from the two-letter prefix.
• Machine make, model and serial number — many spec changes are triggered by machine variant, not engine number alone.

Common Perkins-powered equipment

Perkins industrial diesels are fitted to a huge range of UK construction and agricultural machinery, including:

• JCB — Loadall, 3CX, 4CX and earlier excavators (Perkins-powered variants)
• Massey Ferguson — agricultural tractors
• Caterpillar — selected industrial and genset applications (Cat is Perkins's parent company)
• Manitou — telehandlers
• Generator sets, gensets and CHP units across many brands
• Marine and pumping applications

Related engine identification guides

• Isuzu Engine Serial Number Guide
• Telehandler Parts Guide

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