CAT 3406E/C15/C15 ACERT and 3408E/C18/C18 ACERT info

[swaterhouse]

We are in the market for a new boat, possibly a Sea Ray, possibly something else. All the boats we are looking at were built from about 2003 to 2008, and lots have CAT engines.

I rarely trust boat listings, I try to use photo evidence to see for myself what features most listed boats have and use the listing text to confirm or deny those findings. My issue is I cant tell the difference between the CAT engines. I can visually look at Cummins 450/480/QSC engines and know which is which and I understand most of the important differences.

Can anyone give me clues on what the actual differences and physical looking differences between the CAT families?

From what I found so far my understanding is the 3406E was the first "electronic" controlled engines, and the C15 was a revision that fixed some persistent oil leaks. That info came from a truck oriented site, so may not be true for the marine engines. Not sure what the ACERT changed or even when that came out, it may have been post 2008 and none of the engines I am seeing have ACERTS.

Not sure about the 4608E to C18 progression, assume its similar?

 

[dtfeld]

I think it’s a complex subject, but Boatdisel.com is a great resource to sort out about every diesel related question. They have a list of about every engine used in a boat, so you can get a pretty good idea how the engines progressed.

I believe the 3116 became the 3126 and eventually the C7. All are inline 6’s. The 3116 is a 3000 series engine..each cylinder is 1.1l x 6 = 6.6l (116) and the 3126 is 1.2l x 6 = 7.2l (126) the c7 became ACERT at some point I believe.

I don’t know too much about other families.