3116 & 3126 Cat Engine Oil

Gimme Time

Active Member
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Jan 7, 2007
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Charlottesville, VA./ Deltaville, VA. / Tidewater
Boat Info
2006 52SB, Ray Marine E120, Garmin 7612 through BOE site sponsor,
Engines
QSM11s
fwebster provide me with some infor on the 3116 & 3126 that I felt should be moved from the 'Westerbeke Diesel Gen Set' to this fourm.

It has been discussed before but many like issues can be tuff to track sometimes.

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
Caterpillar's website isn't the friendliest one out there simply because there is too much on it.

The problem with multiviscosity oils is that Cat has found that the viscosity enhancers in the oil will b reak down and adhere to the inside of the aftercoolers and restrict air flow. They don't even recommend using their own oil....DEO. Cat has developed a synthetic oil for just the 3116 and 3126 because these are the only 2 engine types to have the problem. The Cat synthetic is covered in their publication # PEHP9516. Almost no Cat dealer stocks it becvause of the cost.

As an alternative Cat recommends a sinvle viscosity SAE 30 or 40 depending upon your ambient temperatures. Look at page 16 and 17 in Cat Publication # SEBU6251-12,"Caterpillar Commercial Diesel Fluid Recommendations".

Go to www.cat.com and search for the pub. #'s........search box is in the upper right corner.


Frank,

Many thanks for the info. To make a long story short the publication # PEHP9516 does not have all the correct serial numbers that apply. I first found mine was not listed and thought it was fine with the 15-40 multi-grade oil. Upon reading the much larger (90 pages) in the Cat Publication # SEBU6251-12,"Caterpillar Commercial Diesel Fluid Recommendations" it became obvious the previous document had not been updated since 1999 which was its original publication date.

The current Publication # SEBU6251-12 has many more beginning specific serial numbers that apply which included my specific engines. This publication calls for either 30 or 40 weight depending on ambient temperatures the engines are used in. It would appear that mine would best be severed with 40 weight I believe but I am waiting on an email from Cat clarify which would be best for me to use.

It should be noted that I had Carter Cat tell me the 15-40 multi-grade oil was the correct oil for my engines which seems to be incorrect when further investigation is done. They also stated that my engines had all the updated preformed that now leave me a bit concerned so I will go through another path and try and double check the info on the updates.

The 90 page docuemnt is lock as well a can be read but not printed :huh: out so you will need to read as much info as you want but the serial numbers involved are referenced on page 16 of 90.

Again many thanks for your information :smt038, comments and directions for all of us whom enjoy CSR so much. It is a daily connection I make because of the info available from valuable resources.

John
 
Other bits of information.............THe PEHP9516 document is really just a product announcement or product literature for the SAEO Special Application Engine Oil, whereas the other long SEBU6251 document is the current fluid recommendations for the engines. I have found that the Sea Ray dealers and some Cat dealers are not up to date as Caterpillar revises recommendations sometimes well after initial production, hence you get the original recommendation which was DEO 15W40.

Using 15W40 won't harm the mechanical parts of the engine, but it will hasten your need to have the aftercoolers removed and cleaned. This is something like a 16-20 hour job on a pair of engines installed in a boat and represents a significant expense that is easily avoided by staying current with the fluid recommendations.
 
So what was the final out come do we use straight 30 or 40 like rotella T? I have 10 gallons of Rotella T 30 can it be used with haming the engine or should I go and purchase the 40
 
Paul,

If you will read this publication:

SEBU6251-12,"Caterpillar Commercial Diesel Fluid Recommendations"

it gives you the ambient temperature limits for SAE 30 and SAE 40. I am sure either will work, but SAE 40 is going to cause hard starting in NY. I've got friends in CT, MD, NJ and NY using SAE 30 and I have used SAE 40 in Florida since 1997 and 1200 hours and have had no problems and excellent oil analysis results. The key fact here is to use a single viscosity SAE oil or Caterpillar SAEO and not a multi-viscosity oil like a 15W-40.
 
Frank,

Are there any issues with changing from 40W to 30W at the end of this season. I use 30W in the generator as well as transmissions and it would make life a bit easier if everything used the same oil.

Thoughts?
 
I am looking to purhase an 02) 410DA with 3126 Cats 400hrs.I have read a few articles on these engines regarding where they were manufactured and some common issuses .There seems to be some evidence that there were problems with these engines especially in the early production.
I would like to here back from anyone who actually has these diesels and what to expect if anything.
Ron
 
There were a 2 problems that did affect some early....i.e. 1995-2001 or so ....3126's. Both were identified by Caterpillar and repairs were made for any owner who had problems until about Jan 2005. The problems were some soft valves produced by the OEM supplier for Caterpillar, and some 3126 engine blocks were cast with improper metallugy in a French foundry.

The valve problems surfaced at 125 to 175 hours so any engine with more run time than that is considered ok at this point. For the most part, the bad valves were in 10996-1999 engines.

The soft engine blocks surfaced later (with more hours) and manifested itself with premature engine wear.

Your 2002 is most probably not affected at all since the engines were produced well after the above problems were identified and remedies put in place. If these engines were affected, it is most likely that a previous owner has already handled the repairs with Caterpillar

THe way to insure that you are not buying a problem child is to have a Caterpillar aler do an engine survey and request that a blow-by test be done. THis is a proprietary test that can be done on Caterpillar engines to test the amount of combustion gasses getting past the piston rings. A 400 hour engine should test to almost new limits, assuming then engines have not been abused or run hot.

The 410DA is a great boat and the 3100 series Cats are great engines.........you made good choices.
 
Thank you Frank,I have been on a sea trial and it preformed better than we were expecting, lots of power and very smooth.Your information will help me make the proper decision in my purchase.
Ron
 
Here is the tech note from CAT on the oil:

catoil.jpg
 

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