When it comes to buying spare parts for your Thwaites machine, it's crucial to know that you have identified the correct machine. In some cases just knowing the model/mach number is enough to identify the correct part as there may not be any variation throughout the different models. However, in some case it can be difficult to identify the correct part when the machine has changed over time or when there are subtle changes between models.

The most accurate way to purchase spare parts for your machine is to go by the serial number. When you know the serial number it is more reliable and makes it faster for our team here at L&S to accurately pinpoint the component you need.

Serial numbers, in general, can be found in various places on different machines depending on the brand and model. The serial number can often give you further information about your machine, such as when it was manufactured or a particular element making it unique. For example, some engines include the size of the shaft in their serial number.

Thwaites are currently doing this for all of their MACH diggers, with each part of the serial number telling you different features that the machine has. For Thwaites, the serial number or VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is often found on the side of the machine on the yellow covering.

These 4 characters of the Thwaites serial number or VIN (shown in the image below) are perhaps the most important, as these state the MACH number of the machine. This gives you the broadest identification of the machine. Please see below how this is presented.

The next characters of interest are the two digits shown below, which indicate the year of manufacture. Please see below:

After the year of issue, the serial number is followed by a two digit prefix number. This indicates your machine's parts manual issue, enabling you to be certain that the parts diagram you are looking at matches your machine. Please see below:

Finally this is followed by a set of five characters. This number is the actual serial number of this machine. This number is unique and specifically identifies your machines from other machines with the same MACH number. Please see below how this is presented:

There you have the complete Thwaites VIN Number and what it means when broken down. It's always important to note down your VIN Number, as these can often wear away or the badge could potentially break off. So keep this number safe, and be confident when ordering your spare parts.

See below a practical example:
SLBD – terex
D – dana transmission
N – newge axles
00 – spare digits
E1 – year 2001
01 – January
HD – 6ton forward tip dumper with perkin engine
022 – machine s/n