2000 480 SB with Diesel soot and Cat says replace turbos with C12 turbos

[Off-Ice]

I have a 2000 SB with twin Cat 3196 engines with 625 hours. I have always had a problem with a significant amount of diesel soot on the transom and on the bridge after running. I understand the station wagon effect but I have asked Cat for years to lean the motors out and they always refused to do it. I am tired of cleaning the boat after a trip and I had them look at the motors last week. I have tried everything that comes in a bottle to stop the diesel soot and I change fuel and air filters regularly They are indicating that on the exhaust side of the turbo on both engines, the cast iron housing has rusted and the gap between the fan blades and the housing is outside the gap tolerance of 30 thousands of an inch. They indicated that to get rid of the diesel soot issue, I need to replace the turbo housing but they are recommending that they put the C12 turbo on which is larger than the current turbo and will push more air and resolve my problem. I am waiting for the estimate as to cost but I have concern that if I go with the larger turbo, may create other issues down the road. I do not think it is reason that I have to replace the turbo with such low hours. Moreover, I have the coolers changed in 2003 and they look new on the inside. Has anyone incurred the diesel soot issue and if so, has did you resolve it or have you had the turbo replaced with the C12 turbo. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[fwebster]

There isn't anyone on this forum competent to argue with a Caterpillar Marine Engine technician who has examined your problem in person.

Rust in the turbo is not a product of wear or engine hours, but of the turbos ingesting water, most likely from the aftercoolers you have already had replaced. Your question on excessive soot is sort of suprising.......we have 6 or 7 3196 powered 480db's, 500DA's, etc in this marina and all are very clean burning engines and are virtually soot free.

 

[The Bill Collector]

I am not a Cat tech and I am only telling my story....
Your comment caught my attention,
"I have tried everything that comes in a bottle to stop the diesel soot"
The only time the aft end of my boat was covered in soot was when I put too much stuff from a bottle into my fuel tank and then had a following wind.....

 

[fc3]

If this has been a chronic problem and you are on record with Cat as having this problem from day one, then you might have recourse to get them to work with you on the cost of the repair. Other than that, Cat is the expert on those engines....

 

[Off-Ice]

I spoke to Caterpillar today and even though I have complained about the issue for years, they will provide no assistance in repairing the engines. They are not sure what is causing the problems, they think to replace the turbos with C12 turbos and put all new injectors in to see if that fixes the problem. They are putting all the various pricing together. As to the comment about trying everything in a bottle, I have tried several things but in the past year to two years I have not added any additives to the fuel. I usually burn about 4 to 6 tanks a year. I will keep you posted on how things develop.

 

[The Bill Collector]

Sorry Peter..... It doesn't sound inexpensive....

 

[earthmover17]

Has Cat suggested doing a bore scope on your engines? If it was me I would scope the liners to make sure there was no issue there. I don't know if you know it or not but the 3196's had turbo issues. Mine were replaced about the same time the aftercoolers were replaced(400 hrs). If yours have never been done then with 600 hours I would say they need replaced.
Jack

 

[Mr Salt]

Like Frank said I am not a competent Cat mechanic, but I can tell you what I encounter with my engines. My boat came with 3196s the first one failed in 25 hours the next two failed in 300 hours, they were replaced with C-12s that have generally been running fine. Last year I started to get a lot of soot on the transom. What we found is that the risers had leaked and had caused the exhaust side of the turbo to rust and lose pressure, thus not adequate boost. We replaced the exhaust side of the turbo and replaced the risers with new ones that are properly engineered, by marine exhaust. The exhaust side of the turbo housing are from C-18s, they kick in about 300 rpms sooner than the C-12s did. The work was done by a Cat dealer and he has done it on several boats in the marina.

I hope this helped

 

[NautiHabits]

I was wondering if you ever found the solution to your soot problem. I also have a 2000 480. I just bought it in October of this year. I noticed a lot of soot build up on the transom and the bridge after bringing it around the great lakes to get her home. She went straight in to storage so I have not looked in to the issue.

Chad

 

[Sum Escape]

I was wondering if you ever found the solution to your soot problem. I also have a 2000 480. I just bought it in October of this year. I noticed a lot of soot build up on the transom and the bridge after bringing it around the great lakes to get her home. She went straight in to storage so I have not looked in to the issue.

Chad

Welcome to the forum. I am sure you will find it a very useful site. Good luck with your new purchase....see you around Grand Haven in about four months!

 

[NautiHabits]

Welcome to the forum. I am sure you will find it a very useful site. Good luck with your new purchase....see you around Grand Haven in about four months!

Thank you for the greeting. I have visited this site a number of times but never made the jump to become a member. Do you keep your boat in GH? We are located at Grand Isle.

 

[BonBini]

NautiHabits: Just to give you something’s to ponder over till you get your boat back out.

Here are some basics: Black smoke out of a diesel is hot unburnt fuel... Timing, atomization or air.

Try to avoid a tech who is willing to guess instead of test.
When you get your boat out This Year! Take a Cat tech for a sea trial with a laptop. Check fuel pressure, boost pressure and rated rpms. ... analyze the data and go from there.

Do not start using allot of fuel dope. A little is good, allot is bad. ie: unit injector damage will cause poor high pressure resulting in poor atomization and black smoke.

Maybe start your own thread when the time is right and let us know ... Ron

 

[NautiHabits]

Thanks For the info. Will do!