The Mercedes-Benz L 337 is a lorry made by Daimler-Benz, sold under the Mercedes-Benz brand. Introduced in March 1959,[1] it was already discontinued in 1961, and replaced with the L 338. The L 337 is the first generation of Mercedes-Benz' heavy-duty "short-bonnet lorries", and has, in its default configuration, the "long" short bonnet, which is 300 mm longer than the typical Mercedes-Benz medium duty short-bonnet lorry's bonnet. Mercedes-Benz also offered the L 337 as a forward-control lorry, called the LP 337.[2]
| Mercedes-Benz L 337 | |
|---|---|
 Mercedes-Benz L 337 fire engine | |
| Overview | |
| Type | Lorry |
| Manufacturer | Daimler-Benz AG |
| Production | 1959–1961 |
| Assembly | West Germany: Gaggenau |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | 7.2 t lorry |
| Body style | Conventional cab Forward control |
| Layout | Front engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Platform | Mercedes-Benz L 337 |
| Related | Mercedes-Benz L 322 |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | OM 326 (Diesel, 10809 cm3, 127 kW) |
| Transmission | Manual five-speed synchromesh gearbox and two-speed planetary rear-axle; 10 forward, 2 reverse gears |
| Propulsion | Tyres |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 3700–5000 mm |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | L 338 |
The L 337 was designed to comply with "Seebohm's legislation", which limited the maximum permissible total mass of lorries registered in West-Germany to 12,000 kg (plus another 12,000 kg of trailer mass). However, the L 337 was rendered obsolete by rescindment of this legislation in 1960.[3]
Models
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The L 337 is a two-axle lorry with a total permissible mass of 12,000 kg and rear-wheel drive. It has a ladder frame with U-profile longitudinal sections. At launch, Mercedes-Benz offered three different wheelbase options, (3700 mm,[5] 4200 mm, and 4400 mm);[4] in 1960, a 5000 mm option was added. The cab is either the long version of the short-bonnet lorry cab (L, LK models), or the short version of the forward-control cab (LP models). From 1960, Mercedes-Benz offered a long variant of the forward-control cab (LP models).[6]
Both front and rear axles are beam axles. The front axle is a stub (dead) axle, the rear axle is a hypoid drive (live) axle. Usually, such axles do not have additional reduction gearboxes if used in large on-road lorries. However, the L 337's hypoid axle was fitted with an additional, pneumatically-shifted two-speed planetary gearbox, giving the lorry 5 × 2 = 10 forward gears. This design allowed Daimler-Benz to install their modular Daimler-Benz G 32 synchromesh five speed gearbox, which otherwise would not have had proper gear spreading.[7] The clutch used to transmit the torque from the engine to the gearbox is a dry Fichtel & Sachs GF 50 KR BH single-disc clutch. The engine used in the L 337 is the naturally aspirated, straight-six OM 326IV Diesel engine. It is precombustion chamber injected, water-cooled, and rated 190 hp (SAE gross) / 172 PS; 127 kW (DIN 70020).[4]
Technical specifications
edit| L 337 | LK 337 | LP 337 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions and weights | |||
| Wheelbase (mm) | 4400 | 4200 | 3700/4200 |
| Length (mm) | 7650 | 7050 | 6960/7920 |
| Width (mm) | 2400 | 2430 | 2400 |
| Height (mm) | 2470 | 2490 | 2560 |
| Front track width (mm) | 1906 | ||
| Rear track width (mm) | 1788 | ||
| Ground clearance (mm) | 252 | ||
| Mass (kg) | 4770 | 5370 | 4740/4950 |
| Payload (kg) | 7230 | 6630 | 7260/7050 |
| Max. permissible mass (kg) | 12,000 | ||
| Powertrain | |||
| Clutch | Dry single-disc clutch Fichtel & Sachs/GF 50 KR/BH | ||
| Gearbox | Five-speed synchromesh gearbox Daimler-Benz G 32 | ||
| Driven axle | Rear axle | ||
| Gear ratios | 1st: 6.106:1 2nd: 3.24:1 3rd: 2.19:1 4th: 1.467:1 5th: 1:1 R: 5.64:1 | ||
| Top speed (km/h) | 72.5 | 83.5 | |
| Brake drum area (cm2) | 2830 | ||
| Engine | |||
| Type designation | Mercedes-Benz OM 326IV | ||
| Type | Naturally aspirated straight-six Diesel | ||
| Fuel system | Precombustion chamber injection; inline injection pump | ||
| Valvetrain | Four overhead valves | ||
| Cooling system | Water | ||
| Bore × Stroke | 128 × 140 mm | ||
| Displacement | 10,809 cm3 | ||
| Power (DIN 70020) | 172 PS (127 kW) at 2200 rpm | ||
| Power (SAE gross) | 190 HP at 2200 rpm | ||
| Max. Torque (DIN 70020) | 58 kp⋅m (569 N⋅m) at 1300 rpm | ||
| Average piston speed | 10.3 m/s | ||
| Compression ε | 20.5 | ||
| Mean effective pressure | 6.75 kp·cm−2 (662 kPa) | ||
| Injection pressure | 135 atü (13.2 MPa) | ||
| Firing order | 1-5-3-6-2-4 | ||
| Inlet opens | 31° before TDC | ||
| Inlet closes | 67° after BDC | ||
| Outlet opens | 69° before BDC | ||
| Outlet closes | 33° after TDC | ||
| Engine mass | 805 kg | ||
| Rated fuel consumption (DIN 70030, in l/100 km) | 18.1 | – | |
| Fluid capacities | |||
| Fuel tank (l) | 100 | ||
| Oil pan (l) | 9–12 | ||
| Cooler (l) | 40 | ||
| Gearbox (l) | 3.7 | ||
| Electrical system | |||
| Starter motor | 24-V sliding armature starter Bosch BPD 6/24 AR 169 | ||
| Generator | Bosch LJ/GK 300/12-1400 AR 18 (12 V, 300 W) Driven starting from crankshaft speeds of 660 rpm | ||
| Batteries | 2 × Lead-acid, 12 V, 105 Ah | ||
| Sources | [4] | [5] | |
See also
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- ^ Deutsche Verkehrswissenschaftliche Gesellschaft (ed.): Internationales Verkehrswesen, Volume 11, A. Tetzlaff-Verlag, 1959, p. 96
- ^ Daimler AG (ed.): Mercedes-Benz truck premiere on 5 March 1959: Global success with a short nose, 4 March 2019, retrieved 17 December 2020
- ^ Harry Niemann, Armin Hermann: 100 Jahre LKW: Geschichte und Zukunft des Nutzfahrzeuges, Steiner-Verlag, 1997, ISBN 978-3-515-07053-9, p. 97
- ^ a b c d e Verband der Automobilindustrie (ed.): Daimler-Benz AG, Werk Gaggenau: Typ L 337 / LK 337, Group 14, Number 1200, Frankfurt am Main, April 1959
- ^ a b c Verband der Automobilindustrie (ed.): Daimler-Benz AG, Werk Gaggenau: Typ LP 337, Group 14, Number 1200a, Frankfurt am Main, April 1959
- ^ Verband der Automobilindustrie (ed.): Daimler-Benz AG, Werk Gaggenau: Typ LP 337, Group 14, Number 1200a, Frankfurt am Main, May 1960
- ^ Olaf von Fersen (ed.): Ein Jahrhundert Automobiltechnik: Nutzfahrzeuge, Springer, Heidelberg 1987, ISBN 978-3-662-01120-1, p. 142–144