Although some parts of a vehicle are designed to last its entire lifetime, they may still fail eventually. MAHLE Aftermarket is addressing this issue by creating a new product range for air intake modules, cylinder head covers, and oil filter modules.

Although cars with alternative drives have surpassed diesel in new registrations in the EU, internal combustion engines still dominate the European passenger car population, and therefore your customer base.

 

As you may have also noticed, the average age of passenger cars is increasing, with almost ten years old in Germany and as much as twelve years old in the EU.

 

This trend indicates a significant demand for spare parts in the repair market.

There are various reasons for the increasing age of vehicle fleets, including rising energy prices and an uncertain economic situation.

 

However, solid technology and growing sustainability awareness also contribute to this trend. This age increase leads to an additional need for replacement parts, as even though many components and systems are designed to last the lifetime of a vehicle, they can still fail due to mechanical damage, material fatigue, or consequential damage resulting from deferred maintenance.

 

To meet this need, MAHLE is developing a new product range focused on engine peripherals, beginning with repair parts such as air intake modules, cylinder head covers, and oil filter modules.

Air intake modules

Air intake modules play an important role in modern and complex combustion engines. They perform far more functions than just filtering and distributing the air volume across the cylinders. An air intake system from MAHLE results in a clean, uniform, and low-resistance air flow, for more power and lower consumption.

Reasons for failure:

  • Overheating due to a cooling system that is not functioning optimally
  • A lot of short-distance operation
  • Faulty EGR valve
  • Damage to the turbocharger, throttle body, as well as other components upstream of the intake manifold

 

MAHLE aftermarket air intake modules:

  • LM 2 - available since March 2023, suitable for: Mercedes-Benz W202/W203 (4-cylinder diesel)
  • LM 3 - available since March 2023, suitable for: Mercedes-Benz W202/W203 (5-cylinder diesel)

Cylinder head covers

They seal the cylinder head and usually form the upper closure of an internal combustion engine. Modern designs integrate other components such as oil mist separators, pressure control valves, check valves or vacuum reservoirs. But they also perform additional functions such as fixing ignition cables and fuel lines, the wiring harness and the oil filler tube. This integration in one assembly makes cylinder head covers a technically and geometrically complex product that has to withstand high loads and temperatures over a long service life.

Reasons for failure:

  • Natural aging of the material due to vibration and temperature fluctuations
  • Overtightening of the fastening screws
  • Mechanical damage after an accident

 

MAHLE aftermarket cylinder head covers:

  • ZH 21 - expected to be available from June 2023, fits: BMW 1 Series (E81/82/87/88), 3 Series (E90/91/92/93), 5 Series (E60/61 + F10/11), 6 Series (E63/64), 7 Series (F01/02/03/04 + E65/66/67), Z4 (E85/86/89), X1 (E84), X3 (E83, F25), X5 (E70)

Oil filter modules

The oil filter module is in most cases flanged directly to the engine block. In addition to filtering and cooling the oil in gasoline and diesel engines, oil filter modules perform many other functions in modern vehicles. These include optional oil mist separation, sensor technology for pressure and temperature control, regulation for oil pressure and crankcase pressure regulation or, for example, thermostat-controlled regulation of the oil flow to the heat exchanger.

 

Reasons for failure:

  • Ageing of the material due to vibration and temperature fluctuations
  • Use of improper tools during disassembly or assembly of the oil filter cover
  • Leaking or defective oil cooler as well as a defective thermostat

 

MAHLE aftermarket oil filter modules:

  • OF 181/14 - expected to be available from May 2023, suitable for: VW / Audi / Porsche 3.0l. TDI (6-cylinder diesel)
  • OF 206/3 - expected to be available from August 2023, suitable for: AUDI / SEAT / SKODA / VW / MAN 1.6l. + 2,0l. TDI (4-cylinder diesel)

To be continued...

The new MAHLE program range is being continuously expanded. With oil mist separators, new products are also already on the list - the first part numbers are to be included in the program at the end of 2023.

More about MAHLE engine parts