Official Caterpillar3116/3126 Thread

I think there was, but our Caterpillar dealer in Panama City only replaced those with stainless steel that presented with problems and to my recollection, Cat never contacted any owners about recall.
Thank you for that info. Do you know what issues the stainless steel ones had? My boat is in fresh water only.
 
3116 is surging! A few weeks ago I changed my racor filter before we went out for the weekend. Boat ran great.

The following week I started the engine and as I left the dock the engine died like it ran out of fuel. Both the primary and the racor we’re almost empty. (So yes the engine ran out of fuel). So as I was refilling the filters I noticed that the racor had leaked some fuel from the bowl. I did my best to tighten it and stop the leak I don’t think I was very successful. I primed the engine and left the dock with the boat running great. Weekend was uneventful.

I went to the boat today and the engine would not start. This time I used the engine primer. I switched the valve in line with the pump, loosened the pump, loosened the o ring sealed bolt/bleed to the right of the engine filter and pumped. It didn’t seem to do much but it was enough to get the engine started. (Rotated knob, tightened pump, tightened bleed. Engine started and ran like crap for 20 seconds like it usually does after a filter change. The difference is the engine was surging 80+ rpms. I took the boat for a ride I was able to get it up on plane after a few attempts and eventually the surge lowered to about 25 rpms.

My question: if can the engine pull air thru the leaky drain in the racor bowl? Or is there a new problem here.
I am going to swap out the racor with a new off brand tomorrow and see if that helps.

Yes!! I installed bowl drain valves in my Racor bowls and didn’t install plugs in the bottom. I could see air being pulled into the bowls, and engines ran like crap. Put in the plugs. No air, engines run great!
 
Yes!! I installed bowl drain valves in my Racor bowls and didn’t install plugs in the bottom. I could see air being pulled into the bowls, and engines ran like crap. Put in the plugs. No air, engines run great!
Thank you. Just ordered a new racor (old one looked like crap) this one comes with a valve and plug.
 
So FW, does Rotella 15w 40 synthetic do anything? We switch all our engines to synthetic almost immediately but it's a bit premium for the boats vs cars!

Strecker, how are things running? We've used a whopping 60 gallons of fuel since purchasing in August. Haven't run things over 1550rpm because we still haven't identified our previous overheat yet.

Our first week the A/C intake hose buckled during a trip and we caught it just in time. And now I think my starboard engine has some sort of exhaust hose or connection issue because we get alot less movement from that exhaust area and also have a small water intrusion on that side only under power. Oddly enough, it happens at first but then when we go to head back it stops leaking.....

LOVING THIS BOAT AND THESE ENGINES!

Anyone replaced a flocan guage? notice my port side is impossible to read.
 

Attachments

  • 20210926_162525.jpg
    20210926_162525.jpg
    142.4 KB · Views: 82
  • 20210926_162528.jpg
    20210926_162528.jpg
    162.7 KB · Views: 75
  • 20210926_165849.jpg
    20210926_165849.jpg
    191.2 KB · Views: 83
  • 20210926_165853.jpg
    20210926_165853.jpg
    180.1 KB · Views: 74
  • IMG_20210926_221949_568.jpg
    IMG_20210926_221949_568.jpg
    152.1 KB · Views: 80
Cat recommends regular old diesel oil like Shell Rotella T1 SAE 30 or 40, Mobil Delvac, Chevron Delo (Delo 400 was very popular here for years but the distributor changed brands and we don't see it much now. or any diesel oil with an API rating of CF-4. I know the benefits of longer time between oil changes etc. with a synthetic oil, but honestly, with your useage so far, you will be changing oil long before the recommended interval. Cat says "every 250 hours or annually". You will be spending 4-5X more for oi changes if you use synthetic oil. and annual oiol changes wilolo be overkill with synthetic oil.
 
Cat recommends regular old diesel oil like Shell Rotella T1 SAE 30 or 40, Mobil Delvac, Chevron Delo (Delo 400 was very popular here for years but the distributor changed brands and we don't see it much now. or any diesel oil with an API rating of CF-4. I know the benefits of longer time between oil changes etc. with a synthetic oil, but honestly, with your useage so far, you will be changing oil long before the recommended interval. Cat says "every 250 hours or annually". You will be spending 4-5X more for oi changes if you use synthetic oil. and annual oiol changes wilolo be overkill with synthetic oil.
Thanks Frank,
I understand why CAT quit making SAEO straight wright, but if I still had a 3116/3126, I would still be running Rotella T=1 30 or 40 wt... just sayin'!
 
Cat recommends regular old diesel oil like Shell Rotella T1 SAE 30 or 40, Mobil Delvac, Chevron Delo (Delo 400 was very popular here for years but the distributor changed brands and we don't see it much now. or any diesel oil with an API rating of CF-4. I know the benefits of longer time between oil changes etc. with a synthetic oil, but honestly, with your useage so far, you will be changing oil long before the recommended interval. Cat says "every 250 hours or annually". You will be spending 4-5X more for oi changes if you use synthetic oil. and annual oiol changes wilolo be overkill with synthetic oil.

Okay, thanks. We switched the generator to the synthetic because it just doesn't take enough to matter. But we haven't done the mains yet because they just had oil done a couple of months ago.
 
What is everyone’s favorite filter wrench for the various filters on the engines? I swear to God I have broken 10 of the cheap Chinesium ones and I tried a strap wrench from Amazon but it slips. I was able to get a grip by wrapping the filter in duct tape but that is ridiculous. The fuel filters seem to get tighter as the year goes on.
 
Thanks guys, good call. I’ll wrap the strap

Done for this year. Not a drop of oil in the bilge. Once you get the hang of the reverso it’s pretty awesome.
Racors came out very clean as well, just a tiny hint of black on a couple spots the rest was still pink.
 
Hey Guys, does anyone has the part number for the gasket kit for the heat exchanger on the 3126 TA. I've got every manual it came with but that's the one part number I can't find. The Disassembly and Assembly manual seems to mention everything but the Heat Exchanger.

I went on caterpillar with my serial number, pretty much every part is listed but no gasket.
 
Last edited:
Hey Guys, does anyone has the part number for the gasket kit for the heat exchanger on the 3126 TA. I've got every manual it came with but that's the one part number I can't find. The Disassembly and Assembly manual seems to mention everything but the Heat Exchanger.

I went on caterpillar with my serial number, pretty much every part is listed but no gasket.
Did you call Ringpower with the engine's S/N?
 
Did you call Ringpower with the engine's S/N?
No, they're closed over the weekend so going to call them Monday, but was hoping someone else had run into the same thing. Getting set up to flush the coolant system, dismantle the heat exchanger, and redo the impeller to eliminate overheating concerns.
 
I'd have to look back to be sure but the seals on the HEX are o rings, not a standard gasket.

Let me look, and I probably have a list of parts I used when I pulled mine.

One thing I did that really made them look new was having the shell sand blasted and powder coated.
 
Where can I find one of the “Assembly and Disassembly Manuals” for the 3116?
 
Hey Guys, does anyone has the part number for the gasket kit for the heat exchanger on the 3126 TA. I've got every manual it came with but that's the one part number I can't find. The Disassembly and Assembly manual seems to mention everything but the Heat Exchanger.

I went on caterpillar with my serial number, pretty much every part is listed but no gasket.

No Gasket

You are looking for

#5 X2, #6 and 18 for each engine.

Part#'s

upload_2021-10-9_13-20-14.png


upload_2021-10-9_13-20-42.png



If you are pulling the Plugs to drain the coolant, add to the list oring #16 and #20, in the vent these leak, its all coming back out...cheap insurance.

upload_2021-10-9_13-20-58.png


upload_2021-10-9_13-21-11.png


upload_2021-10-9_13-15-18.png
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,948
Messages
1,422,804
Members
60,930
Latest member
Ebrown69
Back
Top