450 Sundancer Advice

Hi all,
Been quite a while since I posted here. We are looking at getting back into boating and are going to look at a 1996 450 Sundancer on Sunday. It has 3126 Cats with 1300 hrs. Just wondering if there were any specific issues I should look out for or ask about.
Does this model have a cored hull?
Thanks
Glen

How did the visit to the 1996 450 Sundancer turnout?

To answer your question, my biggest concern would be the health of the engines. The 3126 had an issue with porous or "soft" blocks - were the engines rebuilt or did they have this problem? At 1300 hours if the problem hasn't occurred then it is not likely to happen now, but I'd still check.

Our boat is a '98 w/3126's and CAT replaced them in 2002 under the warranty. I called CAT when first looking at the boat and they confirmed it.

The weak link in the drive train for these boats is the Port Gear. This generation of the Hurth transmissions had a weak countershaft mounting and as the port gear runs with this countershaft in the drive path it has a history of failing. Many of these gears were changed to the stronger ZF 80IV units but if not have the survey look closely at the oil and filter for metallic particles and unusual noises.

The 450 is a GREAT boat! Reach out to Frank Webster as this is his boat albeit with 3116’s.

Overall those boats are rock solid. As with any boat 22 years old many of the systems will need updated/rebuilt/replaced. So keep some boat bucks in your budget for deferred maintenance.

I’ve been helping another member find a 450 and I will point out there are 2 cabin configurations, 3 engine options, and 2 cockpit/dash layouts.

Actually DJDaoust is selling his 450, a very fine example of a well kept boat.

Blkbird said:

Actually DJDaoust is selling his 450, a very fine example of a well kept boat.

Click to expand...

SOLD !!

David told me it was sold pending sea trial... no mention of money changing hands

DjDaoustMemberSILVER Sponsor
213
Nov 4, 2015
La Crosse, WI
1998 450 Sundancer - 3 Boys & A Blonde
Cat 3126's
We have an accepted offer on it.

DJ Daoust - sales rep extraordinaire

Blkbird said:

How did the visit to the 1996 450 Sundancer turnout?

To answer your question, my biggest concern would be the health of the engines. The 3126 had an issue with porous or "soft" blocks - were the engines rebuilt or did they have this problem? At 1300 hours if the problem hasn't occurred then it is not likely to happen now, but I'd still check.

Click to expand...

At 1300 hours, the chances are that the engines were repaired or replaced IF they were soft block engines before now. However, passing a certain number of engine hours doesn't guarantee that soft blocks won't surface and cause problems. The casting number on soft block 3126's is "FAPS", but not all FAPS engines had softer than spec metallurgy. 3116's were not affected.

Caterpillar repaired or replaced all FAPS 3126's found before 1/2004 after which they no longer warranted the soft blocks. This puts the responsibility for due diligence on the buyer of any 3126 powered boat. Here is how:

1. Determine if the engines, one or both, are FAPS blocks.

2. If they are, request and get dated receipts showing what work was done and the serial numbers of the engines repaired.

3. If such records are not available, then you must include a blow-by test as a part of your engine survey. This is a proprietary test that can be done on Cat engines to measure the combustion gasses by passing the piston rinds due to excessive block wear.


Missing this bit of due diligence carries with it a potential $25K/engine price tag, so don't gloss over it. If someone (the seller, a previous owner, the broker, Caterpillar, etc.) cannot produce a detailed receipt, then you have to do the blow-by test.



Good luck with your search…….the 450 is a great boat in all respects.

450's are beautiful boats with a significant amount more room then my already beautiful and roomy 410 and the 3126's are strong and economical motors to run. I love my 3126 Cat's. The one and only complaint I have about my 3126's so far is the zincs in the aftercoolers. It's a stupid design and can be a real PIA to change if you let them go too long. The zincs caps themselves are easy enough to get to but the pencils parts like to stick in the holes when you back out the stainless caps. Best way to try to avoid big headaches is to change them often. The other zincs are relatively easy to get to and swap out.

One "trick" on changing the zincs is to install them with just enough torque to prevent leaking, then when removing them, tighten them about 1/8th of a turn before trying to loosen them. This breaks the lime deposits binding the anode in the after cooler or heat exchanger and allows you to remove them with a lower chance of unscrewing the anode from the plug.