1996 CAT 3126's

[Chris1960]

Hi Guys, I'm in the UK and new to Cat engines but have them in my new boat and have been doing a bit of maintenance myself and I'm just after a bit of advice.

Is there a socket that I need to remove the 2 sizes of square brass anode plugs without doing any damage to them. When I did them last time I've damaged the edges and I've just bought some new ones at £11-50 each !!! (thats around $20 to you guys). We're metric here and trying to find something is proving difficult although imperial stuff is still available but you have to look hard.

If there is a proper cat tool for this, at the price of plugs here its even worth it buying it from the US and having it shipped over

 

[Sea Gull]

Hi Chris! I used to have these same engines on my prior boat. The simple fix is to buy after market plugs which are hexagonal like a normal bolt head rather than the stupid square ones that CAT supplies. If you want to stay with the square ones, you need to find socket that will work. I can't remember the exact dimentions, but I finally found a socket where the end that normally fits on the wrench would fit on the anode plug (maybe 1/2" or 3/8") and with the other end that will fit the wrench I was using.

Other members can probably be more specific.

 

[Chris1960]

Hi Sea Gull,

Thats a good idea ! now why didnt I think of that. I just went over to the engineering shop on the other side of our estate and he's going to make me a wrench with the two square cut outs on either side so I'll see what thats like for now but your plan is the one to aim for in the long term !

Regards Chris

 

[osd9]

.......The simple fix is to buy after market plugs which are hexagonal like a normal bolt head rather than the stupid square ones that CAT supplies. .......

That's why I didn't know what Chris was talking about....:thumbsup:.....(My 3126s don't have any square headed zincs.....I bought Sea Gull's old boat....:grin

You can get the full 3126 zinc set from Boatzincs.com....some come with new heads...

 

[ImpulseIII]

Changed mine first time I changes the zincs.....prolbem gone......

 

[Chris1960]

Boatzinc.com.....................WOW

Thats great, thanks for that, problem solved and loads cheaper than here in the UK. When I get in tomorrow I will scan & post the receipt for 60L of ELC, 6 plugs, 2 "O" rings and a pack of 5 zincs......................You wont believe the price !!!

 

[Dancin Dave]

you dont need a socket wrench for these, the small zinc plugs will use a 10m open end wrench.

 

[Dancin Dave]

I see 2 for the trani cooler, 3 for the heat exchanger, dont forget the one in the exhaust elbow and that leaves the 1 in the genny

 

[Four Suns]

Cummins puts those same silly square head zincs in... They were history the first time I changed them.

 

[fwebster]

Don't make this harder than it is........just buy the 2 sizes of 8 point sockets required for the Cat zincs if you want to stay with that type.

 

[tobnpr]

I wish this thread had popped up a couple of days earlier.
Just bought two full sets (for both engines-20 zincs and plugs, I've got three in the heat exch and two in the tranny cooler) from Ring Power on Tuesday. When I asked the parts guy about the square base he said "I don't know what they use on them".
I hoped I could get regular sockets to somehow fit on them.

I about crapped my pants when he handed me the little paper bag and the bill for nearly three hundred bucks...

 

[fwebster]

Canadian Metal Products ...CAMP...makes hex head zincs in all the sizes you need for Cat engines. They are so cheap that most prople just replace them instead of "reloading".

 

[Chris1960]

"I about crapped my pants when he handed me the little paper bag and the bill for nearly three hundred bucks!"

I know the feeling, I was going to scan this bill and post it here but easier just to write it out:-

3 x 20L coolant CAT ELC @ £189
6 x Brass Plugs for anodes @ £57
1 x Pack of 5 zincs @ £28
carriage @ £25
Total £300 !! Thats $594 at todays exchange rate