Belt Guards on Cat. 3116 - 40 Sedan Bridge

[Ray 40]

I'm going thru the process of removing the belt guards on my 3116 Cats. (1997) 400 Sedan Bridge.

I removed the Port side after alot of effort. The long bolts back out into a coolant pipe/hose. Finally had to remove fuel filter and tie a line to the pipe to pull it up enough to get a wrench on the bolt.
The Starboard side is next. Being it is on the outboard side of the engine- even trickier. It looks like I'll have to cut it out with a sawz-all (sp?) in pieces as there doesn' appear to be enough room to pull it out in one piece because of the Strbrd.
fuel tank.

I don't even want to think how I would have changed a belt out in open water with these guards in place.

My Cat. Dlr. explained to me that the guard is almost useless in our marine application but it is an OSHA requirement for other applications - so it is factory installed before engine is sent to mfr. for boat installation.
Easier to drain coolant and remove blocking pipe - but - I just had coolant serviced - drain,flush, install Extended Life Coolant- and- I'm too cheap to do it again.
How have others handled this situation

 

[fwebster]

I removed my belt guards when I installed the Walker AirSeps. I could see that changing the belts with the guards left on would be a 2-3 hour job vs. 10 minutes with the guards off.

But, here is a word of caution: By removing the OEM guards, you will leave the alternator pulley with cooling vanes exposed on your port engine.....stbd on DA's. That pulley sticks out into the passage way between engines and will chew up what ever gets into it. You will need to fabricate a replacement guard or shut everything down when you climb into the bilge.

When I'm not there I sometimes have to use either a Caterpillar or one of the technicians at the marina for something on my boat. I never could figure a way to handle the liability issue of someone getting hurt working on my boat because I removed a factory safety guard. I made a stainless steel "shortie" guard for the exposed alternator. It was easy to do and it is something I recommend if you remove the OEM belt guards.....even if you have to get a machine shop to do it for you.

 

[SR400DB]

My port guard is removed, I have not had the guts to cut up the stbd unit yet. It is on my list of things to do though. Good luck and I will do as Frank has suggested, a small cover for the alternator.