Official Caterpillar3116/3126 Thread

fwebster said:
I have 20 years of SOS reports on my 3116's and everyone has water and fuel contamination reported as "N" which is none. Just for reference sake, the last SOS was done with 150 hours and 1 year on the oil, but total time of 1550 hours on the engines and the contaminents were

Chromium 0 ppm
Aluminum 1 ppm
Iron 4 ppm

All were within normal limits, according to Thompson Caterpillar in Nashville TN

Since I've never had a report come back with anything but "No" fuel dilution, I've had to do some homework on that,

Fuel contamination is measured and reported as a % of volume. So an engine with a 26 qt. oil capacity with 1.0% fuel dilution means the engine is holding roughly a 8oz glass full of fuel when it should have <.2% fuel contamination. So, my view is that a 1% fuel dilution isn't the end of the world, but coupled with abnormally high Fe, AL and Cr, it is indicative of a cylinder wash out that can get very expensive, and in the worst case, end up in a top end overhaul which on a 400/410 or 380DA (guessing) means removing the cockpit deck and the offending engine then boring the engine and sleeving the cylinders and buying a new set of pistons and rings.

The low run time but all done at idle could be the cause of the problem if one or more cylinders was not completely burning its fuel charge. To determine that may take removing the injectors and having their spray pattern tested on a test stand. That would requires resetting the overheads when the injectors are reinstalled.

The more I think about this the more complicated the route to the finish line becomes.


Frank
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You’re a wealth of knowledge Frank. Thanks for taking the time to write all of that up
 
Hi
Is there anyone who have connected a water heater (so I can enjoy some hot showers in the future) on a CAT 3116 engine?
I have been searching for quite some time on where to plug in the hose’s for the cooling water without any luck.
I would realy appreciate if anyone could point out the the plugged connections on the engine that can be used for this matter.

Kind Regards
 
I have 3126's and did this 14 years ago... I don't remember, I'd have to take a look.
 
Magnus Olofsson said:
Hi
Is there anyone who have connected a water heater (so I can enjoy some hot showers in the future) on a CAT 3116 engine?
I have been searching for quite some time on where to plug in the hose’s for the cooling water without any luck.
I would realy appreciate if anyone could point out the the plugged connections on the engine that can be used for this matter.

Kind Regards
Click to expand...

This might help.... https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ldkqdefnl3xbt5/CAT MANUAL SEBU6164-08-00-ALL.pdf?dl=0
 
Sgrochow said:
I've been wondering about the same thing. Don't usually run the genset on long trips. Scrolled though the linked manual but was unable to find. I'm only a half assed mechanic, can you point me to the proper page on your link? Guessing there are some plugs in the cooling system that I can tap into?
Click to expand...

Your genset will die sooner from lack of use rather than overuse...
 
The Bill Collector said:
This might help.... https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ldkqdefnl3xbt5/CAT MANUAL SEBU6164-08-00-ALL.pdf?dl=0
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply, unfortunately I can’t figure out from the manual where to connect the hose’s for the water heater.


The Bill Collector said:
I have 3126's and did this 14 years ago... I don't remember, I'd have to take a look.
Click to expand...
Please have a look and see if you can remember, this been haunting me for quite some time now..

K.R
 
Okay guys, I'm at a loss for ideas.

Starboard overheating still!

We checked the HEX, it's clean. We replaced the water pump belt, the thermostat, coolant cap. Checked the raw water impeller, it's good. Fresh ELC coolant.

Today we ran it in neutral for a while dialing up RPMS here and there and it got to about 190 degrees much faster than my port engine. Then we decided to take it out for some trials, anything above 1800rpms and it heated to a tick above 200 degrees and the overheating alarm sounded. It was a steady increase of the temperature.

I was able to get up on plane for the first time and did run it wide open for maybe 30 seconds, and we got white vapor out of the exhaust after that.

What other options can you think of??
 
Thomas Griffith said:
Okay guys, I'm at a loss for ideas.

Starboard overheating still!

We checked the HEX, it's clean. We replaced the water pump belt, the thermostat, coolant cap. Checked the raw water impeller, it's good. Fresh ELC coolant.

Today we ran it in neutral for a while dialing up RPMS here and there and it got to about 190 degrees much faster than my port engine. Then we decided to take it out for some trials, anything above 1800rpms and it heated to a tick above 200 degrees and the overheating alarm sounded. It was a steady increase of the temperature.

I was able to get up on plane for the first time and did run it wide open for maybe 30 seconds, and we got white vapor out of the exhaust after that.

What other options can you think of??
Click to expand...

since it seems everything else has been taken care of, any chance at some oddity on the pickup for that engine? Any transducers or other aftermarket changes to the hull bottom that could be causing turbulence in the water and causing you to suck up air?

a trick in the smaller gas engine world was to put some clear plastic hose in-line to detect bubbles or poor suction.
 
Thomas Griffith said:
Okay guys, I'm at a loss for ideas.

Starboard overheating still!

We checked the HEX, it's clean. We replaced the water pump belt, the thermostat, coolant cap. Checked the raw water impeller, it's good. Fresh ELC coolant.

Today we ran it in neutral for a while dialing up RPMS here and there and it got to about 190 degrees much faster than my port engine. Then we decided to take it out for some trials, anything above 1800rpms and it heated to a tick above 200 degrees and the overheating alarm sounded. It was a steady increase of the temperature.

I was able to get up on plane for the first time and did run it wide open for maybe 30 seconds, and we got white vapor out of the exhaust after that.

What other options can you think of??
Click to expand...
Strecker25 said:
since it seems everything else has been taken care of, any chance at some oddity on the pickup for that engine? Any transducers or other aftermarket changes to the hull bottom that could be causing turbulence in the water and causing you to suck up air?

a trick in the smaller gas engine world was to put some clear plastic hose in-line to detect bubbles or poor suction.
Click to expand...
Should these engines really get to 190 in neutral?
 
Strecker25 said:
since it seems everything else has been taken care of, any chance at some oddity on the pickup for that engine? Any transducers or other aftermarket changes to the hull bottom that could be causing turbulence in the water and causing you to suck up air?

a trick in the smaller gas engine world was to put some clear plastic hose in-line to detect bubbles or poor suction.
Click to expand...

Any chance it could be the exhaust exit? I notice that I get far less bubbling from the underwater exhaust on the starboard side vs the port.

My port side doesn't even seem to get to 190.
 
Thomas Griffith said:
Any chance it could be the exhaust exit? I notice that I get far less bubbling from the underwater exhaust on the starboard side vs the port.

My port side doesn't even seem to get to 190.
Click to expand...

to Mitch’s point, mine get now where near operating temp idling. If I throttle them up I might be able to push to 160 but they won’t go much past 120-130 idling with no load

out boats underwater exhaust is pretty far outboard of the centerline and the pickups are just about on the keel but all boats are different.

Could be chasing a ghost but id start to think about restrictions and somehow verify you’re getting proper raw water flow
 
Did you check the heat exchanger for the gear transmission. If not, pull a hose off it and look in it. Quite often there is a build up on the input side. Also, do you understand that your heat exchangers are split into two sections. It is a double pass therefor it literally only takes a few blocked tubes to cause an issue.
31E524F7-169E-405F-AABB-239E20D9C5FE.jpeg
 
Riptide III said:
Did you check the heat exchanger for the gear transmission. If not, pull a hose off it and look in it. Quite often there is a build up on the input side. Also, do you understand that your heat exchangers are split into two sections. It is a double pass therefor it literally only takes a few blocked tubes to cause an issue.View attachment 117454
Click to expand...
We pulled them completely, totally clean. The only thing I can think of is an obstruction along the line somewhere else. I have pulled the strainer already as well. I get no bubbles on the starboard side from the underwater exhaust.
 
If there's a way you can verify the actual flow and compare the two, that would be my next step.

Has it been overheated before? Maybe head gasket? Has a diver checked the intake strainer /seacock?
 
The Bill Collector said:
Run Rydlime through the
douglee25 said:
If there's a way you can verify the actual flow and compare the two, that would be my next step.

Has it been overheated before? Maybe head gasket? Has a diver checked the intake strainer /seacock?
Click to expand...

This is an on going problem. However it runs at 1500rpm with no overheating. Its only when I get it to higher rpms.
Click to expand...
 
Just to be clear, I showed you a picture of my heat exchange, but I was also talking about the transmission cooler mounted above the tranny. It takes very little to obscure that. Crap tends to settle to the bottom of it in a pile of zinc and sediment. Also, if your boat is getting up to 190 at the dock, there is no sense in taking it for a ride. I don’t see mine even hit 160 at the dock.
 
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