1997 400DA with 3116 maintenance maintneance challenges

M

mrsrobinson

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2006
7,704
Virginia
Boat Info
2001 380DA
Engines
Caterpillar 3126
We have looked at a 1997 400DA with the 3116 CATs 2 times and are close to making an offer. The boat shows very well and has been well cared for with 1300+ hours on the engines.

I climbed through the engine compartment and though better than our previous 1995 330DA, it's tight in some places.

For the 400DA 3116 CAT owners out there, what are your pain points with doing your own maintenance on this boat, from the cabin systems to the engine compartment?

Thanks
 
Looked at a 1997 400DA very hard two years ago in my epic search for the right boat. Made offer but the moisture meter went wild on a 25x5 or so area on starboard side. Still almost bought after significant reduction in price but went with 450DA later on. I really liked the 400DA. Handled well, ran good, great layout. Whats not to like. The 400 is a little tight in the engine room compared to the 450DA. Alot of 3116 cat owners on here as you know. Good Luck. JC
 
Find the generator...where is the sea water pump?, where is the heat exchanger?, where is the zinc in the heat exchanger?

Find the sea water pump on both Cats..how do you get to the stbd one?

Find the belt guards on both engines......is there room to remove them to change the belts.....no, the belts won't slip behind them.

Find the Racors.........Find the sea strainers........ How do you get past the linear actuator that raises the cockpit sole?

Find the heat exchangers on the main engines......to clean them the tube bundle is removed from the inboard side of the port and outboard side of the stbd engine. The must be room between the engines and between the stbd engine and the hull for th length of the tube bundle to slide out. If there isn't, you have to completely dissassemble the cooling system and remove the entire heat exchanger from each engine.

When the water heater takes a dump, how do you get the old one out and the new one in?
 
Mark,

If you remove the stbd exhaust system from the riser/elbow to back past the water heater, probably to the muffler inlet, the water heater will come out around the front of the stbd engine.

I should also add that this is the only component that is the least bit of a challenge to replace on the 450........you can pretty much walk up to everything else on the boat and remove/replace it.
 
fwebster said:
Mark,

If you remove the stbd exhaust system from the riser/elbow to back past the water heater, probably to the muffler inlet, the water heater will come out around the front of the stbd engine.

I should also add that this is the only component that is the least bit of a challenge to replace on the 450........you can pretty much walk up to everything else on the boat and remove/replace it.
Click to expand...

Frank, you are the "Man", Thank You !!!
 
Re: 1997 400DA

Everything can be done, when there's love it's all possible.. As far as the hot water tank is concerned (I did that little job last summer with a reciprocating electric saw) you cut the old one in half! Then I replaced it with a Slim 15 cylindrical tank which, though stainless and expensive, fits perfectly and works like a charm!

Sure things do get tight sometimes but I'm not too thick around the middle - it helps! Lots of tips are available here - if you go ahead I even have a system for changing the stb impeller without removing the exhaust..

Great boat, love it!
Warren
 
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I've owned my '97 400DA from the build. It's been great to us. The engine room can get a little tight especially when you have to do some work behind the engines near the transom area. This is a good excuse to keep the weight off.
I have done all my maintenance and you learn some of the tricks as you go. Changing impeller on the std engine get's a little tricky but can be done without much being removed. You need to buy the bolt that screws into impella and will actually push it out. (neat trick). The port engine is a breeze. Even working on gen can be done once you learn the ropes. I rebuilt my water pump last year and didn't have to remove to much to get at it.
Suggest you pull of the belt guards and leave them off. Makes any work that needs to bone on belts much easier, especially at sea.
Hot water heater might be try if it goes. I replaced heating element years ago and it still works great.
One big pain in ....., the refig. If it goes and you want to replace it, forget it. I will NOT fit through door opening. The top of boat was placed on after refrig was installed.
Hower when mine had problems, I was advised, just replace the power supply and compressor. These are major elements that make refig work. The box will never wear out. Of course the parts cost more than a new regig but hey, it's a lot cheaper than cutting a hole in side of boat to replace.

It's a wonderful ship, very dependable if you take care of it with regular maintanence, especially the Cats. Since I found this site recently, there are enough experts out in this world than can advise you and just about anything.
Good luck

Peter
 
Greg - you're tall and skinny like me and I have managed to get everywhere but under my Cat's in the 380.

BTW - I just replaced the guts on my fridge and the parts were less than half the price of a new unit.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the feedback.

A for sale 1997 450DA is sitting right next to this one, same broker. Both boats were taken in on trade. 450 has been on the market 2+ years as we looked at it 2 years ago.

I was neat being able to compare the two. Unfortunately the 450 is just too tight for me at the helm..otherwise a great boat.

We really like this boat..it shows well and needs nothing from what we can see. I do not think engine room access will be as difficult as our 330DA but will be a challenge. The next step is to make an offer, which if we still feel this good in 2-3 days we plan to make one.
 
Aaron

Where did you purchase the parts for the refrig? When I was forced to do this repair many years ago, I went through our local repair center but they also supplied the labor. I didn't realize how little they had to do until after I watch the process. "Live and learn"
 
I cannot stand at the helm as I am 6'3". I have to lean, which I had to do on the 330DA.
 
I have a lot to learn about diesels and look forward to learning.

Are there some basic questions I can ask the broker about the engines service/maintenance wise to get a feel for their condition? Of course we will get a CAT engine survey/inspection, but just to know how they have been cared for prior to making an offer would be helpful.
 
HIRSCHHORN53 said:
Aaron

Where did you purchase the parts for the refrig? When I was forced to do this repair many years ago, I went through our local repair center but they also supplied the labor. I didn't realize how little they had to do until after I watch the process. "Live and learn"
Click to expand...

I bought the "guts" from rvcoolingunit.com for $595 + shipping. I did the work myself in just a few hours and also had the frame powdercoated to make the fridge look like new. The replacement Norcold would have been around $1400 at the time.
 
mrsrobinson said:
Of course we will get a CAT engine survey/inspection, but just to know how they have been cared for prior to making an offer would be helpful.
Click to expand...

Once there has been an offer and acceptance, request the maintenance records from the owner. You can always ask for them now, but most likely the selling broker isn't going to get them for you until there's a contract. Make your offer(s) based on what you see... you can get a pretty good idea of how well the vessel has been maintained just by poking around the bilge. Rusted hose clamps, corroded wiring and connections, rust on the engines, etc. tell you something about the owner.

As is standard, you can always get your deposit back and walk away if the surveys don't pan out.
 
Hi Greg ... are there any updates?? Did you finally get the deed done and bought the 400DA??

Curious what 'yer doin' this summer ...
 
fwebster said:
http://www.boatersed.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=130320&whichp...

Looks like he's decided to buy a dock queen..............
Click to expand...

Thanks Frank! I appreciate the redirect!! I guess I never frequent much other forums anymore ... so a Regal 3880 huh. I always liked that boat too, but we won't get a sedan as long as we are on the lake. If I were Greg I also would go with diesels the way he uses his boat. For the lake and how we boat I might stay with gasssers. We only put 30 to 60 hours on the boat in a year. We are looking actively into a 410DA right now. maybe I can make something happen over the winter.

Seems like we won't see much of him here anymore ...:smt009
 
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