ArvinMeritor Inc. on Thursday, March 19, at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., introduced the Meritor MXL (Meritor Extended Lube), a new series of greaseable drivelines with 100,000-mile lubrication intervals and a three-year 300,000-mile warranty in linehaul service.
ArvinMeritor also announced a suite of Meritor blended learning programs for 2009 incorporating self-guided online learning, virtual classroom webinars and onsite instruction; and touted its remanufactured brake shoes with a special platinum-gray coating designed to protect against corrosion and rust-jacking.
Greaseable drivelines
The new driveline – with the same product ratings and application guidelines as the Meritor 17N, 176N and 18N series — was designed for truck operators who seek reduced maintenance costs and a longer warranty. The Meritor MXL will enter production this summer and be available on new trucks or able to retrofit. The new driveline joins the RPL permanently-lubricated driveline in the Meritor family of driveline products for commercial vehicles.
“The MXL combines the simplicity and durability of the proven RN U-joint design with the premium sealing capability of the RPL permanently lubed product,” said Joe Plomin, vice president of ArvinMeritor’s truck business unit. “We’ve set the bar higher for drivelines in terms of performance, ease of maintenance and warranty coverage – all highly valued by the customers.”
The company said the main and interaxle slip assemblies combine an advanced nitrile seal to keep contaminants out with a protective guard that resists road debris, increasing slip assembly operating life. The u-joint builds upon the high-strength Meritor RN series design; tts needle-bearing package with contoured ends are designed to minimize axial (side) loading, and the glass-reinforced nylon thrust washer helps prevent metal-to-metal contact.
The MXL’s RN Series yoke configurations are compatible with other industry standard yokes, making it interchangeable with most greaseable drivelines in linehaul use today, according to the company; truck operators may standardize on a single greaseable driveline regardless of vehicle make or model. The product offering will be available with both easy-service and full-round yoke designs.
Blended earning programs
The learning programs, based on customer feedback, are designed to provide the broadest possible menu of practical learning experiences for heavy-duty truck operators and technicians, as well as dealers and distributors.
“We have an incredible catalog of training materials and the most technically prepared and experienced district managers, field sales and service representatives in the North American marketplace,” said Rick Martin, training manager for Commercial Vehicle Systems. “Our blended learning approach allows customers to tap into both areas, creating the mix of course content and delivery methods that make sense for them.”
The company said the Meritor blended learning program is comprised of three elements:
Reman brake shoes
Remanufactured Meritor shoes with PlatinumShield coating offer a three-year 300,000-mile warranty against rust-jacking. Used shoes are shot-blasted and proceed through a five-stage wash and pretreatment process with iron phosphate before the PlatinumShield coating is applied.
ArvinMeritor’s brake engineers developed the PlatinumShield coating to resist microabrasion caused by the movement of the brake lining against the shoe table during normal use. Rust-jacking occurs when rust forms on bare shoe metal under the lining, causing the lining to lift and crack. This has long been an industry problem, but it has become even more prevalent due to increased use of harsh liquid chemicals as winter road solvents, says Doug Wolma, general manager of remanufacturing for ArvinMeritor’s Commercial Vehicle Aftermarket business.
Starting in May, the remanufactured brake shoes with PlatinumShield coating will be standard on all Meritor remanufactured production shoes with “MA” and “R” prefixes; Meritor MG1, MG2L, MG2, CG and MET OEM aftermarket shoes; and Fras-Le F550, F555, F577, F560, F587, F787T and Combo shoes.
