-
Help Support Hardline Crawlers :
Cat 3208- Good?
- Thread starter Digger 5
- Start date
Lucky Jeff
Well-Known Member
year? Cat was well loved up until a certain point and then started to head south. Whether the common person would know the difference.... who knows. But truck drivers completely lost faith with the Acert motors.
ain'tstuckjustresting
RIP Mister 12/5/12
Uh? 3208 should not be uttered in the same sentence as Cummins 5.9 or Duramax. 3208 is a good reliable engine that was put in everything. Parts a readily available and they are easy to work on. They were produced as a "throw away motor" though. They don't have very good rings and are prone to smoking badly especially if they arn't worked very hard. I have 2 10 yd dump trucks w/3208's that have plenty of power. I have a buddy w/ a 50' charter boat w/twin 3208's and that bitch screams. I guess what I'm saying is it's not a bad engine but it's no Dmax.
ain'tstuckjustresting
RIP Mister 12/5/12
Sould be comparable power to a old 12v 5.9 but better than a 460 or 454.....
This makes no sense...
ain'tstuckjustresting
RIP Mister 12/5/12
Nothing I say make sense! Just stating that a 3208 is an old school engine that is no longer produced. They were pretty good engines for there time but if I could get a motorhome w/ a 365hp Dmax Or ISC therewould be no comparison.
Yes there is aftermarket support and good parts avail. Unfortuanatly Cat is famous for making a special tool for every job so modifications can be difficult
by the garage mechanic. 250hp is on the higher end for that motor but I do believe it will go higher but it will be spendy to do it right. I assume it's turbo'd. I think you'll be surprised at how well 250hp moves a motorhome with that Cat torque. If you need questions answered by an expert call Brennon Diesel in Puyallup. He was a Cat Eng. mechanic and now owns his own shop. Great guy and reasonable prices.........
Did that make any sense or am I still batting 1.000?
IDK about the 3208's but I have a couple of 3406's for hydraulic/generator power and love them. We got a deal on them since they needed a rebuild which cost $40K each. I replaced a couple of Detroits 8V71's and all I can say is I love CAT power. The only thing I love more is my John Deere/Lugger/NortherLights Gen set. So far the tally on my boat is 3 CATS and 1 Lugger 190KW gen set.
They have run billions of miles in old cabover Ford C8000s. I BELIEVE they were originally designed as a more economical replacement for the Ford 534 truck V-8. I would rather have one in the 1971 truck in my fleet than the Detroit 6V-53 that is installed. Really narrow powerband there. Saying throwaway is compared to engines that were designed to run 500,000 miles between overhauls.
If I was happy with the rest of the motorhome, the 3208 wouldn't chase me away.
If I was happy with the rest of the motorhome, the 3208 wouldn't chase me away.
ain'tstuckjustresting
RIP Mister 12/5/12
8k hell thats nothing! Our service truck weighs 30k and does just fine. The only issue will be tranny. 9 or 10sp would be best. Auto will be a pig.
A 3208 is no 3406 but a 3406 in a motorhome is like a LS1 in a Pinto. Cool but way over the top.
A 3208 is no 3406 but a 3406 in a motorhome is like a LS1 in a Pinto. Cool but way over the top.
It is an auto(Allison). Will it really be a pig?
Glenn
Well-Known Member
They have been used in Class 8 trucks in the 1970s and 1980s.
ain'tstuckjustresting
RIP Mister 12/5/12
I love the allison in my d-max but every heavyduty truck I've driven w/ a allison is a slow slug. Sorry, it might be fine but my experience hasn't been great. A 9sp swap would be a pain in a MH but would be cool to drive. Can you test drive it?
Yeah, I'll be able to test drive it. Thanks for your help, it's appreciated.
I have had several 3208s in different equipment not a bad motor but seem to need alot of rpms to get the job done. They are alot bigger motor than the dmax or the 5.9, 3208 is 636 c.i. power wise they are ok 250 hp 675 torq with a turbo, marine applications I have seen 375 hp.
skinny_pedal
Well-Known Member
I work on the crystal water trucks. We have three 3208's in our fleet backed by allison auto's. They are dogs...even more when the trucks are loaded. Same trucks with an ISB Cummins or DT466E International seem to have much more power.
With that being said, they seem to be a relieble engine. Had to do a set of injectors in one that had 25xxxx miles on it. But being a cat you have to buy a special tool to install those injectors and it ain't cheap.
With that being said, they seem to be a relieble engine. Had to do a set of injectors in one that had 25xxxx miles on it. But being a cat you have to buy a special tool to install those injectors and it ain't cheap.
Damnyankee
Well-Known Member
Cat 3208's are old, and no longer available.
even in their day they were not considered a very good engine.
even in their day they were not considered a very good engine.
