German version
Farewell to the prechamber: first direct-injection engines for trucks and busses arrive in 1964 - Distinctly reduced consumption
- Greatly improved starting characteristics
- Reduced smoke formation
Mercedes OM 346 - Mercedes-Benz cited low consumption and soot-free combustion as major advantages of the new direct-injection engines.
Large picture
Just one year after the new cab-over-engine trucks of the LP series came on the scene in 1963, they and their snub-nosed colleagues got new engines. After a good 40 years, Daimler-Benz bid farewell to the precombustion chamber principle which was introduced in 1923, introducing direct injection in 1964 in the shape of two new in-line six-cylinder engines: the 10.8 litre OM 346 and the OM 352, displacement 5.7 litres, superseded the prechamber diesels OM 326 and OM 322.