Cat 3208 Series
- Thread starter ECHO
- Start date
My interest in the engines started before I bought the boat with 435hp 3208s. I too heard the tales of unusual breakdowns of the higher hp versions of the 3208. In my research, I first went to the source, Cat, and asked them if the failure rate of the higher HP engines was any greater then the 375s. (375s were pretty common in the early 90s) The answer from Cat was no. I talked to the manufarture of the boat I was buying and their answer was the same. I also was interested in the dock myth that they were throwaway motors. No again. The motors are beefy enough to be overbored twice. The part numbers of the overbore kits are in the service manual included with the engines. I asked about any other special concerns about the 435 over the 375. (later 450hp also went into production) Cat stated there were no special problems. My boat manufacture used 375s in early and mid 90s production before they went to 435s, and, they confirmed there success and satisfaction with the 435s was equal to or better then the 375s. I also read the Pascoe story and asked Cat about his conclusions. They said the engine runs no hotter at 435 hp then 375 and seemed pretty confused about what exactly he meant. They stated the obvious that in a marine engine cooling is accomplished by water carring off heat and not by the size of the block. They said because of improvement in the cooling systems of both later models of the 435 and 375 engines ran better then earlier versions. By the way, a 435 3208 is not the same block part as the 375. The block was improved for the 435 version. Pascoe's assertion that Cat. only got to 475 hp was more bs. They had allready developed well over 500 hp from the engine and were ready to market it in that hp configuration when they stopped production. Emissions killed the engine. As footnote my newer 435s engines are far less smokey then the older 375s. The Pascoe article was written in the early 90s when the engine first hit the market. His article is pure theory and is based on his observation of its size. Although I was sceptical of his conclusions, I found them worthy of further exploration, as I didn't have to buy 435s. Other engines were available. I couldn't find proof to support a single claim asserted by Pascoe in his article. My point is a simple one. Echo asked a general question about the reliability of the engines. When I asked the same question, I could not find any reliable authority or facts that supported the dock folk lore that 435 were inferior in reliability over the 375s. I just wanted Echo to know that the myths discussed on this topic on this forum are just that, myths. I will ask again for the authority that would support anyones assertion that 435s or 450s exibited reliability problems. So far none has been forthcoming and none will be. The simple statement I "have been around boats a long time" and "I saw one blow up once" doesn't satisfy me as reliable information upon which I should make a decision. I agree that the engine is one of the most reliable ever produced regardless of hp. I don't know what point people are trying to make when they slam the higher hp version of the engine so I cannot comment on that. My observation that if you do your research as I did, you will find these statements are assertions, not fact. BB
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I still stand by my words.
One of the best, if not THE best marine engines CAT ever made.
Jonathan
One of the best, if not THE best marine engines CAT ever made.
Jonathan
My boat has 375hp 3208's and the engine surveyor made this same statement almost word for word.
When I bought the boat, my engines had been mistreated. The PO had replaced the dry risers with a "standard" riser, hose and fiberglass elbows. This had cooling water injected into the exhaust BELOW the water lift muffler. The turbos were bad (boost below spec) and the back presure was above spec. The surveyor felt that the engines had not yet been seriously been harmed. In fact, he said that "in their current condition, these 3208's were better engines than some of the newer Cat models". There are very few special tools required to work on the 3208. The surveyor stated that anybody mechanically inclined with a standard set of SAE wrenches could maintain and repair these engines.
After purchasing the boat, I was able to make all the repairs myself with a few hours of consulting advise from a mechanic that has 30 years of Cat experience.
After the engines were "healthy" again, the only issue I had was the throttle shaft seal on the injector pump on both engines failed. Both failures caused the engines to quit running. The first one I was close to home, and got home on one engine. The other one failed away from home, and I was able plumb in an electric fuel transfer pump to keep fuel in the engine (the seal is on the suction side). This got me home and leaked very little fuel (transfer pump only ran at 5 psi).
I still wish I had a little bit more power. I cruise around 18 kts fully loaded with fuel, water, and supplies for a week in the Bahamas. When fully loaded, the boat will occationally fall off plane when encountering a head sea. When this happens, I'll bump up my cruise RPM's to 2550 to stay on plane.
To recap, 3208's are great engines.
Jonathan
I think I just found the impellers for $190.00
look at the bottom of the page at the sherwood 18000k kit -I still need to confirm but Depco lists this smae part # - and yes its from boat fix
http://www.boatfix.com/bypage2index.asp?page=249
Rebuilt my share of 3208's - the 1160 and 3160 I think were predecessors of the 3208 and were designed by Cat originally to be a "throw away" engine. Not to be rebuilt. Thus the parent-bore block - a first in Cat's timeline. But the dealer where I worked rebuilt them 5 3208's at a time in one continuous rotation. Dry sleeved them.
Great marine engines. For some reason in heavy equipment (usually under 250HP) they were the worst. Maybe because most were NA and not Turbo'd. We always called them "Grenades" and the 3204 was called the "half grenade". Get any water in the sleeve metering fuel system and the sleeves would stick at full fuel and they'd run away. First runaway cat I witnessed- a 3208 in a Cat 231 excavator. Second was a 3208 in a CS553 compactor.
NA 3208's in heavy equipment would smoke so bad on a cold morning your eyes would burn for a week.
Great marine engines. For some reason in heavy equipment (usually under 250HP) they were the worst. Maybe because most were NA and not Turbo'd. We always called them "Grenades" and the 3204 was called the "half grenade". Get any water in the sleeve metering fuel system and the sleeves would stick at full fuel and they'd run away. First runaway cat I witnessed- a 3208 in a Cat 231 excavator. Second was a 3208 in a CS553 compactor.
NA 3208's in heavy equipment would smoke so bad on a cold morning your eyes would burn for a week.
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Sorry about bring back this old thread, but the subject is timely as I am considering a 1997 Sea Ray 450 SUndancer with 3208's at 435 horse, 1,100 hours.
Most of these vessels were equipped with 3116 @ (I believe) 375 hp or 3126 @ 420 hp
Any comments would be appreciated
Most of these vessels were equipped with 3116 @ (I believe) 375 hp or 3126 @ 420 hp
Any comments would be appreciated
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If I'm not mistaken the Cat 3208 was used in the self-loading 613 B scraper. I ran one for a year in TX. Talk about punishment; we ran the hell out of those machines. They only had 150 HP, but ran all day under load.
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Ok, everything I have read…
3126’s seem to be decent engines
3116’s…as said above, stay away from French built blocks, so be careful.
3208’s have a good reputation, except for the high HP models. Stick to 375 HP or less.
If you really want to get into this, sign up to Boatdiesel.com. It costs a few bucks to join, but there is a wealth of info over there.
3126’s seem to be decent engines
3116’s…as said above, stay away from French built blocks, so be careful.
3208’s have a good reputation, except for the high HP models. Stick to 375 HP or less.
If you really want to get into this, sign up to Boatdiesel.com. It costs a few bucks to join, but there is a wealth of info over there.
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Been a member on Boatdiesel for nearly 20 years
