Official Caterpillar3116/3126 Thread

I just drained all my coolant and bought 16 gal of new CAT ELC coolant to replace. Before I do that, is there any recommended maintained or things I should check out while the engines don't have coolant in them?
Absolutely - flush the engine cooling passages. The ELC if not changed per schedule will leave a film on the metal surfaces and inhibit heat exchange. I think my mechanic filled the engines with a solution of some type and ran them to circulate then drained then filled with the ELC.
 
We replaced the belt today, got things running. Noticed a small leak at the regulator gasket and my diesel mechanic over torqued the bolt and broke off the flange and entire corner area of the regulator housing. So boat I'd definitely sitting at the dock until they/we can source that part. ‍♂️
 
Hi
I remember a while back someone posted where to get new decals for the engines.
I wanted to dress up the engines during winter

tia
 
Where to test for antifreeze concentration? On our old above the water exhaust sailboat the Admiral would catch the last few drops of exhaust to test for proper freeze protection. With in and underwater exhuast cant do it that way. Where would the best easiest drain be to take a small sample for a refractometer test? We ran 7 gallons thru each 3126 but I sleep better over the winter if I was sure. In hind sight draining the heat exchangers would have reduced dilution.
As I still have not found a way to stop the engines from the engine room, I ran a rope up to the bridge and admiral shut them off when she saw the rope pulled away. Primative but effective engine room telegraph.
 
Where to test for antifreeze concentration? On our old above the water exhaust sailboat the Admiral would catch the last few drops of exhaust to test for proper freeze protection. With in and underwater exhuast cant do it that way. Where would the best easiest drain be to take a small sample for a refractometer test? We ran 7 gallons thru each 3126 but I sleep better over the winter if I was sure. In hind sight draining the heat exchangers would have reduced dilution.
As I still have not found a way to stop the engines from the engine room, I ran a rope up to the bridge and admiral shut them off when she saw the rope pulled away. Primative but effective engine room telegraph.

You could pull a sample from the transmission cooler...either pull the hose or the anode.
 
Where to test for antifreeze concentration? On our old above the water exhaust sailboat the Admiral would catch the last few drops of exhaust to test for proper freeze protection. With in and underwater exhuast cant do it that way. Where would the best easiest drain be to take a small sample for a refractometer test? We ran 7 gallons thru each 3126 but I sleep better over the winter if I was sure. In hind sight draining the heat exchangers would have reduced dilution.
As I still have not found a way to stop the engines from the engine room, I ran a rope up to the bridge and admiral shut them off when she saw the rope pulled away. Primative but effective engine room telegraph.

i catch ours and test it but like Dave said you can pull the transmission cooler zinc and check there. Aftercooler too, though most drains out.

 
Where to test for antifreeze concentration? On our old above the water exhaust sailboat the Admiral would catch the last few drops of exhaust to test for proper freeze protection. With in and underwater exhuast cant do it that way. Where would the best easiest drain be to take a small sample for a refractometer test? We ran 7 gallons thru each 3126 but I sleep better over the winter if I was sure. In hind sight draining the heat exchangers would have reduced dilution.
As I still have not found a way to stop the engines from the engine room, I ran a rope up to the bridge and admiral shut them off when she saw the rope pulled away. Primative but effective engine room telegraph.

There are many ways to skin the cat, but seeing as how we have the same boat, I’ll share my method. I attach a 2” rigid hose (won’t collapse) to the top of the strainers using a 3” pvc pipe adaptor, stick the hose in a tub with 6 gallons of pink in it and the admiral fires them up. When the tub is empty, I tell her to shut it down as I watch the pink exiting the exhaust port on the side from the swim platform. I can see the tub from the swim platform looking through the cockpit hatch, and she can hear me because I’m not in the e/r. I don’t catch it any more to test it because for the first few years it tested fine after doing this. I can tell by looking at the color that it’s not diluted. I also drain my aftercoolers and mufflers before I start so I know there’s no water to begin with.
We don’t have the same motors so I don’t know if draining is possible, although I know plenty of guys who don’t drain the water first and never have had a problem. I use the adaptor on top of the strainers because the intake hose on the starboard side is short and hard to get off the strainer, otherwise I would just pull the hose off the strainer and stick it in the tub. Also, I clamp off the shaft seal hose so ALL the pink goes through the system instead of losing a gallon out the seals while running the motors. Afterwards when I remove the clamp, the pink left in the raw water side of the system drains out the shaft seals. I have her watch the pink gush out of the shaft log to confirm that the seal hoses aren’t blocked. You can work out what works best for you.
 
Amazing engines! I will be moving a boat to Jarrett Bay later this week for some interior refit work and engine rebuilds on C32's at Gregory Poole. It's an impressive facility throughout.
 
Can anyone tell me if Chevron Delo 400 SAE 30 is a suitable replacement for Rotela T1?
 
I don't see anything in the specs that give me pause. A lot of folks are using Delo 400 in Florida, however, those using SAE 30 and SAE 40 are having a very hard time finding the straight grade. About the only place stocking SAE 30 or 40 are the oil distributors so the days buying your oil it at discounters like Advance Auto, Walmart or TSC may be over.
 
In the spring I had a conversation with the cat tech (from HO penn Long Island) when we did sea trail on boat.
I told him during the winter I would like to service my aftercoolers. I asked if he had any recommendations on who they use.

He stated that Cat no longer recommends serving them. He said that they now tell there customers to replace them. he said if it fails it will wipe out your engine..

so is this real or tare they just trying to sell me new coolers

I just hit 920 hours
 
In the spring I had a conversation with the cat tech (from HO penn Long Island) when we did sea trail on boat.
I told him during the winter I would like to service my aftercoolers. I asked if he had any recommendations on who they use.

He stated that Cat no longer recommends serving them. He said that they now tell there customers to replace them. he said if it fails it will wipe out your engine..

so is this real or tare they just trying to sell me new coolers

I just hit 920 hours

I have done 2 flushings with rydlime over the years and I have never had a problem.... And this just my layman's perspective but they seem to be built like brick shit house's.
 
The cost for "a" (one!) 3126 aftercooler is $3500 so your Cat rep just told you they recommend you spend $7000 plus about $2500 in labor instead of cleaning your aftercoolers. Before writing that check, I think I'd want to see what is inside the aftercoolers and verify if there is enough corrosion to doubt the security of the existing after coolers.

Keep in mind that the 3126 aftercoolers have sea water running thru them for cooling, if they have been neglected it is possible that there are thin spots in the water passages and cleaning them may open holes into the air side….. worse.
 
In the spring I had a conversation with the cat tech (from HO penn Long Island) when we did sea trail on boat.
I told him during the winter I would like to service my aftercoolers. I asked if he had any recommendations on who they use.

He stated that Cat no longer recommends serving them. He said that they now tell there customers to replace them. he said if it fails it will wipe out your engine..

so is this real or tare they just trying to sell me new coolers

I just hit 920 hours
There are 3126's out there with thousands of hours on them and running the original aftercoolers. It can't be overstated the importance of maintenance on the anodes and the bonding system as it is these that prevent galvanic corrosion of the metal aftercooler and everything else BTW.
I seem to remember (help me here Frank @fwebster) that they need to be pulled, inspected, cleaned, and pressure tested every 1000 hours or 5 years. Actually, I think that's true on all of the raw water coolers. Maybe it was Boatdiesel.com where I got that.... Regardless, I've never heard nor read that replacement is required as normal maintenance.
 
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