caterpillar 3116ta with 638 hours.

[Pyrojodge]

Hey guys I have a good friend looking at an express with the above engines. The boat has lived in freshwater it's whole life. He's done research on his own and has found some pretty scary stuff about these engines. He asked me my opinion and I instantly thought of you guys. Does anyone have personal experience of advice with these engines? Thanks in advance.

 

[rondds]

I'm curious what the scary stuff was. I've never heard anything like that about 3116s and have several friends with them, including our very own Frank W.

 

[carterchapman]

Any diesel (or gas engine) is scary without proper maintenance and operating conditions. I have two friends with QSM -11's that are spending over $25K on HE/Cooler maintenance/Front cover gaskets/aftercoolers/Exhaust manifolds and gaskets, etc. My 3126's (outgrowth of the 3116's) have 675 hours on them and are doing great.

 

[Pyrojodge]

I searched the forums and there were different items. Bad blocks, bad valves, and others. I instructed my friend that a complete diesel survey is imparitive but didn't know if there was anything else to watch for.

 

[carterchapman]

Frank W. will tell us that all the bad FAPS blocks have been fixed by now along with the bad valves. Engines didn't last 150 hours with those and CAT replaced them. If it's got 638 hours, ask for all the oil sample records (a consientious owner will do those annually) and have a PAR certified CAT mechanic do an engine survey - cheap insurance at $2000 or so for two engines...

 

[mjmason1]

I have the 3116ta's with almost 1000 hrs on them. Does the previous owner have service records? Send out the oil samples. The 3116's are set to reach 2800 rpm. If the motors do that, engine temp is good and oil pressure is good, then he can probably skip the engine survey. If money isn't an issue then pay for the survey.

 

[rondds]

Carter, I thought the "soft" blocks from France plagued only the 3126s (?)

 

[ImpulseIII]

Ron, They were.

 

[carterchapman]

Carter, I thought the "soft" blocks from France plagued only the 3126s (?)

frank W. will chime in with the correct answer, but I thought both, and the valve problem was 3126's...but I may be wrong. The answer is - if the engines are at 600+ hours, they are not affected...

 

[Z-Worthy]

I am rapidly approaching 2000 freshwater hours on my 3116s and even the CAT mechanic said they're barely broken in. I take his word for it, but they run like champs!

 

[HUMPH]

I have the 3116ta's with almost 1000 hrs on them. Does the previous owner have service records? Send out the oil samples. The 3116's are set to reach 2800 rpm. If the motors do that, engine temp is good and oil pressure is good, then he can probably skip the engine survey. If money isn't an issue then pay for the survey.

Never, I mean never, advise someone not to have an engine survey by an authorized mechanic! That is not sound advise...

 

[barlow]

I have 1900+ hours without issue. Regular maintenance is the key...check the service records. A CAT mechanic will have access to all previous history, factory recalls etc...refer to post re RPMs etc that pretty much sums it up. It would be money well spent to have an engine survey carried out by a CAT tech.

 

[Pyrojodge]

Thanks everyone for the information. I have sent this thread to mu buddy and he appreciates all the suggestions. Anyone else care to join in?

 

[fwebster]

I've been traveling this week and missed this, sorry.

Your friend should pay more attention to the current condition of the boat and mechanicals and how well the engines were maintained than to what he reads on the internet about Caterpillar problems that occurred 20 years ago.

There were some 3116 problems with TRW valve stems but Cat identified that, fixed it and repaired all engines that were involved. I have 3116's (1500 hours) so I got involved with this in about 1998. I eventually talked to th e Service Manager at Ringhaver Caterpillar, the distribute who sold the engines to Sea Ray and who was responsible for fixing the ones that dropped valves. The soft valves all failed between 125 and 150 hours so an engine 20 years old with over 500 hours on them doesn't have soft valves.

Only the 3126 engines came from the French foundry with the metallurgy issue. Even if the 3116 has FAPS casting numbers, they never had soft blocks.

All diesels are intolerant to over heating and to overloading, so the above doesn't mean your engines didn't or won't have problems related to those issues or from maintenance neglect. Therefore, spend the $$ to have a Caterpillar technician survey the engines and be sure to get fluid sampling done on engine oil, transmission lube oil, and coolant on the engines and generator. The best source is Caterpillar's SOS labs; test kits are available at all Cat dealers.