XDP 4.90 Diesel Engine

Mahindra’s search for a modern diesel engine ended with a technical collaboration with Peugeot (France) to manufacture state of the art & modern diesel engines and gearboxes. The XDP 4.90 was the first Diesel engine out of this collaboration.

• Plant – Ghatkopar (Bombay), Igatpuri
• Production – 1979 – 2005
• Engine Model – XDP 4.90

Engine specifications –

• Type – Indirect Injection Diesel (IDI)
• No of cylinders – 4
• Capacity – 2112 cc
• Fuel Delivery – DPA Rotary pump with Pintle injectors
• Governor – Mechanical , All speed Governor
• Power – 62 hp at 4500 rpm
• Torque – 12.3 kg-m at 2000 rpm

The XDP 4.90 Diesel Engine was one of the modern high speed diesel engine of the 70s and 80s. It had many unique features –

• XDP 4.90 was an over-square design with the stroke (83mm) being lower than the cylinder bore (90 mm).
• It was the first Diesel engine in India fitted with a Rotary Fuel Injection Pump. The CAV design rotary pump was supplied by Roto-Diesel (France), Con-Diesel (Spain) and later Lucas-TVS (India)
• It had an Aluminum cylinder head.
• The combustion system was of swirl chamber design and fitted with Ricardo Comet V swirl Chamber.
• Catridge type oil filters and fuel filters were also new concepts at that time.
• It also had a troublesome design of a rope oil seal at the crankshaft rear end.

In after-sales service, the entire universe of dealer technicians had to be re-trained to handle the new way of fuel pump timing setting, anti-stall setting and handling Aluminium cylinder heads during engine repairs.

Author’s note – This new engine was like a breath of fresh air and spawned a plethora of new vehicle models – NC665DP, CJ500DP, CJ540DP, NC640DP, CJ640DP, MM540DP, FJ460DP, Armada – the DP standing for “Diesel Peugeot”. This engine was discontinued in 2005, when India moved to BS3 emission norms.