Oil for 3116TA Cats

W

Warren

Guest
Caterpillar recommends the use of their own engine oil. Surely there are great substitutes available for less $$$. Or do you prefer OEM oil? Each engine holds about 5 gallons as I recall.

Any suggestions? What grades do you use in temporate climates?

Warren
 
Each engine hold 26 qts and Shell RotellaT SAE 30 CF-4 oil meets Cat specs.

The important thing is to not use a multiviscosity oil like 15W-40 in 3116 or 3126 engines. The viscosity enhancers leave deposits on and clog up the aftercoolers.
 
Thanks for the info Frank. Where do you buy this Shell product yourself? Obviously I won't import it to Canada but I would like to know:

1. what "type" of dealer you buy from locally - marine, truck depot, service station, etc.??

2. In reading the Cat manual on the subject I notice that they recommend a Cat oil 10W30 for this climate. Do they have a special way of blending their own product to overcome this issue?

3. In your experience is the price difference significant in your area? Or for say, one change/year is the extra cost of the Cat oil worth it?

Thanks for your insights!
Warren
 
My local Wal Mart carries Rotella T 30 weight at a good price. You can probably find a local distributor who carries it in 5 gallon buckets at even better price.
 
Warren,

Caterpillar is a little different than some engine makers. they never quit adjusting, changing, improving, etc. Since they don't re-publish owners/operator's manuals, we have to check their website or with dealers for tech service bulletins. So, your owner's manual is out of date based on Cat's experience with clogging of aftercoolers.

Their website data base available to owners is almost too voluminous and can be daunting to find info on. I'll try to find the oil thing and either copy it or get you a link for it.

I buy RotellaT...there is plain Rotella and Rotella T, you want Rotella T.....at my local oil distributor. Most trucking and agricultural outlets also have it at retail. I like to pick it up at the oil distributor in 5 gal pails, which is the cheapest way to buy it. Since we need 14 gal for an oil change in the Cats and the Westerbeke, it works out pretty close. I paid about $9.70US for Rotella T in 5 gal pails and the Caterpillar SAEO (Cat #170-5261) was $18.75US per gal at the Caterpillar dealer, which is the only source.

Cat SAEO is great oil....it is a synthetic formulated without the additives that clog aftercoolers in 3116 and 3126 engines. I choose to use Rotella T because it meets the applicable Cat specs and requirements and is a lot more economical. Also, given that we run 100 to 150 hours per year, we do not need the advantage of an extended oil change interval usually resulting from the use of synthetics. Convenience is another factor........our cat dealer usually only stocks a few gallons of the SAEO so you have to allow lead time to get them to order it and the dealers can only order a pallet full without special handling.

You didn't address it, but you should also be using Caterpillar brand fuel and oil filters.[/list]
 
Frank,

Does the "T" in Rotella T indicate use with turbocharged engines? I was told it did but the source was not overly mechanically inclined.

I have been using the Caterpillar SAEO but I don't recall paying almost $20 per gallon. I'll have to check but somewhere in the dusty recesses of my mind I seem to recall it being closer to $12. Still more than Rotella T but close enough to not make a real difference. I do use Cat filters exclusively.

I guess its getting to be that time when we northerners start thinking about oil changes and winterization. UGH......how depressing.
 
I pay 14.95 per gl after a 10% CAT seminar discount every spring. Otherwise it is 16.62 per gal in the 1 gl jugs. The only way CAT sells it.

I use rotella in my wbeke.
 
Frank,

Rotella is for normally aspirated compression ignition engines...Rotella T is for turbocharged compression ignition ones.


On prices, this may be a spot where we just fall thru the cracks. We can buy SAEO at the Sea Ray dealer or go to the Cat distributor in a nearby town. The Sea Ray dealer hits you with the "on-the-water; because I can" markup, and the distributor, who is mostly an earth moving/construction equipment store, has to recover his freight to get your 14 gal shipped in from a sister store that stocks SAEO.


Warren,

I cannot get the section of a 60 page pdf document on the Cat site to print, so here is what to look for:

Go to Caterpillar.com,parts,fluids then search for:

Caterpillar Commercial Diesel Engines Fluids Recommendations (SEBU6251-10)

You are looking for page #9, near the bottom thru page #11. Note that Cat segregates the 3126 and 3116 from other fluid recommendations.

Another Cat document you may wish to search for is PEHP9516, which covers Cat SAEO and its specifications. You can also search Rotella T SAE 30 on the Shell lubricants site and compare the two if you are interested.
 
Great tips guys, thanks. Yes, it's getting to be that time of the year.. vacations are winding up and thoughts of winterizing are not too far away, sigh. :smt101

I read the Cat sections that you suggested Frank. Very interesting.. amazing that manuals become obsolete so quickly! The one thing that was not discussed was recommended oil change intervals. I have about 80 hrs on the engines since the last oil change (no indication of what type of oil used).. should I wait till the end of the season and 100-120 hrs or now and again at the end of season? Yes, all Cat filters and there are written change dates and hrs on the filter bodies by the previous owner.

Invaluable information, thanks again!
Warren
 
Warren,
For what this is worth..I change the oil and filters at the end of the season. Some years it's 75 hours and some its 100+ but I only change them once a year! Any more frequently than that, under normal operating conditions, is just a waste of money and time. If you run 500 + hours...it becomes a different story.
 
That's what I thought Frank - I'll wait 4-6 weeks to change the oil!

One closing question (probably too simple for another topic): I have the built-in Cat oil change system. Is the process the same as with our other Yanmar engines: (1) warm engines (2) remove oil filter (3) pump out used oil (4) replace filter, oiling the seal and filling the filter body with new oil (5) introduce new oil via oil change system, changing the direction of flow

I notice that there is a hand pump on the engine for introducing fresh oil to the filter body but the (now obsolete) manual says NOT to fill the filter body before threading on the new one. Why not? I have always been told to fill the new filter with fresh oil before attaching it to the engine???

Thanks for the tips guys, given this info I will know which oil to use, when and how to change it! Great advice all but is sounds like I should enrole in a local Caterpiller seminar as well..
Cheers,
Warren
 
Wow... I can't imagine not filling the filter up with oil. I bet my filter holds north of 2 quarts of oil and letting it run dry for a bit seems wrong... but I'm not a Cat guy.
 
Gary, Frank I believe that my manual is recommending the use of the supplied hand pump in preference to pre-filling the filter body with oil (for some unexplained reason).

Do you have the same kind of hand pump? If you prefill (which has always been my practice) what do you use it for?
Warren
 
I have Cummins and the cheap :smt014 didn't give me a handpump so I just pour oil into the filter. Does this "Cat hand pump" add some kind of magic pixie dust to the oil first?... nice...
 
Do Cats come with

Do Cats come with Pre lubrication systems standard?

That is one pet peave I have with Cummins is these recreation engines do not have pre lube systems on them. It increases wear so much to start a dry engine.

<sigh>
 
Do Cats come with

Do Cats come with Pre lubrication systems standard?

That is one pet peave I have with Cummins is these recreation engines do not have pre lube systems on them. It increases wear so much to start a dry engine.

<sigh>
 
Warren,

The factory recommended oil change interval is 250 hours or annually. Most pleasure boats don't approach 250 hours, so I do mine at the end of the season so I remove the years trapped moisture and soot rather than leave it in during the winter. Even though we use our boat all year, it does get less use in the winter and I don't like the idea of leaving contaminents in the engine while it sits.

If you have standard 3116's, I don't think you have an oil pump to preload filters. Perhaps someone added one, but I suspect you are thinking about the manual pump for priming fuel filters. Relax Gary........

Your oil change procedure is correct except I do one added thing. The change pump and piping holds a lot of oil. If you use the oil change pump until it sucks air, then reverse it and refill the engine, all that old oil goes back into the engine. After the pump sucks air, I turn it off and let it sit for 5-10 mionutes then I turn it back on...as soon as it sucks air the 2nd time I pour about a quart of new oil into the crankcase and let it get sucked out by the oil change pump. Then I add the new oil by reversing the pump.

I don't care what Caterpillar or anyone else says, I don't start a $25K engine with a dry oil filter. As long as you use clean oil that you just opened, there isn't anything wrong with prefilling filters.
 
Perhaps Warren in thinking about engine mounted fuel filters, not oil filter.

The manual says not to pre-fill fuel filters but prime with priming pump. There is no such system for oil filters. I can't imagine why one wouldn't pre-fill oil filters.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,120
Messages
1,426,612
Members
61,037
Latest member
wojozobl
Back
Top