480 DB Owners Club

Can any 480 owners with the Caterpillar 3196's weigh in on what your maintenance schedules are in terms of aftercoolers? Have they been replaced due to the services bulletin? If not how often do you have them inspected and pressure tested? Looking at a few 480's with this setup and most have not been replaced. Have been told on a few that they were "serviced". Should i be asking for results of a pressure test?
 
That aft cover looks pretty nice. I just found ours (bought the boat in Aug) . PO never used it. It is the slanted, but we aren't out there much yet. Mike
 
That aft cover looks pretty nice. I just found ours (bought the boat in Aug) . PO never used it. It is the slanted, but we aren't out there much yet. Mike
Thank you. My wife and I are very excited about it. Of course, it just got finished yesterday and I am getting pulled on Monday October 15th.
We use the cockpit area quite a bit and are looking forward to the extra room, no bending forward to sit on the back bench and the windows / screens will provide a lot of air flow.
 
That aft cover looks pretty nice. I just found ours (bought the boat in Aug) . PO never used it. It is the slanted, but we aren't out there much yet. Mike


Mike,

You’ll probably find on the 52 your overhead bridge extends back further than the 480 models and you have move head room. I don’t use the standard back covers as I had one made just the wintdh in white with some visibility through it as a screen more that full cover.

I can shoot you an email pic
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if you’d like as I’ve never taken the time to learn how to post pics here !
 
Can any 480 owners with the Caterpillar 3196's weigh in on what your maintenance schedules are in terms of aftercoolers? Have they been replaced due to the services bulletin? If not how often do you have them inspected and pressure tested? Looking at a few 480's with this setup and most have not been replaced. Have been told on a few that they were "serviced". Should i be asking for results of a pressure test?
I have the 3196’s. I would have your Cat surveyor verify that you have 5147’s for He core on the tabs. Then try to find documentation of pressure testing every 2 years. Mine have been fine, Since I had the 5247 core installed. But you do need to pressure test these cores or any other manufacturers aftercooler core for that matter. If you have additional questions please feel free to ask. I have 3000 hours on mine and they run strong.
 
Should i be asking for results of a pressure test?
Yes, it would be nice to see if they were actually tested. It's going to be a pass/fail test. Mine are done every 2 yrs. (records onboard) with the exception of this time I am going 3 years cause the boat was laid up and engines winterized for 8 months during a major retrofit/upgrade. If the coolers sat in sea water during that time instead of corrosion inhibitor antifreeze, Then I would be doing them now. Most likely the coolers are going to be the latest upgrade #5147 on the tab between the 2 halves. Either way testing should be done every 2 years or 1000 hrs.
 
Looks nice John!!

Cummings guys, who has put EGT gauges on your boats, where did you get them, and if you got them from sbmarine, when size probe did you install, 1/4" or 1/8"?
Mike
 
Does anyone know where I can find the grab handle in the attached pictures? Mine cracked off the big drawer under the dining seat. I think I can cement it back together, but would prefer a new one if possible. The pictures are of the handle that's still in tact in the galley bottle storage pull-out.

Thanks in advance!
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Can any 480 owners with the Caterpillar 3196's weigh in on what your maintenance schedules are in terms of aftercoolers? Have they been replaced due to the services bulletin? If not how often do you have them inspected and pressure tested? Looking at a few 480's with this setup and most have not been replaced. Have been told on a few that they were "serviced". Should i be asking for results of a pressure test?

I have a 2002 480DB with 3196s (660HP) and they've been great so far. Chances are that if the boat is still running, the service has been done; my understanding is that they were all recalled. I could be wrong. We had the broker clean the aftercoolers about 4 years ago before we bought it and haven't touched them since, but we're in fresh water and replace the pencil anodes annually. I do plan on cleaning them this winter even though I haven't had overheating issues at all since we owned this awesome boat. I think there's a member on here that set up a great rig to clean both aftercoolers at once; using a small pump, 5 gallon buckets, some tubing and a cleaning solution. A quick search should give you several cleaning options. A good surveyor should be able to tell you if they've been replaced / serviced; but again, if the boat is running today, chances are the issue was resolved.
Good luck with the hunt!! You won't find a better boat, just my $0.02
 
That’s interesting Brent, what did it cost? Is it possible to post more pics? Particularly of the overhang frame? Underneath? I see the supports on the side but curious how the rest is connected.
I’m concerned with losing the sun exposure- has that been an issue?
 
Maybe different fridge and all that but.....we had a problem with water draining from the bottom right corner of our fridge. I emptied the fridge and while looking everythng over I found the condensation/drip catcher was full. My wife didn't realize it was there and hadn't been emptying it.

Where is the drip catcher?
 
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Looked at an 01 480 and noticed the pictured oil sheen from one of the engine exhaust while at idle. The other was fine. Seller brushed it off as it was normal. Thoughts?
 
Transmission gear oil cooler leak.....be glad spotted the oil sheen. Just my $0.02.

Jaybeaux
 
That’s interesting Brent, what did it cost? Is it possible to post more pics? Particularly of the overhang frame? Underneath? I see the supports on the side but curious how the rest is connected.
I’m concerned with losing the sun exposure- has that been an issue?
Russ, There is no additional supports. Just the ones on the sides with the slight arc to them. They are good size and offer enough support that I didn't need additional poles from either the top or bottom to support it.
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View attachment 61395 Looked at an 01 480 and noticed the pictured oil sheen from one of the engine exhaust while at idle. The other was fine. Seller brushed it off as it was normal. Thoughts?

I'm more concerned about the seller's reaction than of the sheen itself. If he's willing to ignore that, what else has he ignored?
 
I'm more concerned about the seller's reaction than of the sheen itself. If he's willing to ignore that, what else has he ignored?
I should note that the boat is broker owned.
 

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