CAT 3116/3126 Engine Survey

BBOC

2003 380DA
Apr 9, 2017
35
Harrison Twp. MI
Boat Info
03' 380DA Twin 8.1L Horizons
Engines
8.1L Horizons v-Drives
Looking for suggestions for a good CAT Marine Engine Surveyor in East Michigan/Metro Detroit...

Just looking for the CAT Engines to be Checked out before I buy... what is the cost some have seen?
 
You will want to get a CAT dealer mechanic on board.
 
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Call the Michigan CAT center nearest to your boat’s location. Tell them you want a sea trial (if the boat’s still in the water) and they will give you an estimate based on engine model, travel distance, etc. That will be more accurate than any guessing that will ensue here on a forum.

Also, when you call them, give them the engine serial numbers. They will be able to pull up the warranty/service/repair history of the engines for work they have done. If the seller used a different mechanic over the years, that won’t show, but the CAT history could be helpful to you.
 
For 3100 series engines a full survey on the engines takes about 8 man hours and only requires 1 mechanic. Various Cat dealers have different hourly rates and different add-on’s for travel time, mileage, per diem expenses, truck rental for the service truck. Sometimes the add on’s are quite reasonable but some dealers get way too aggressive and just plain stupid with the add’s so it is best to get a “not to exceed” price before agreeing to the work.

As far as getting historical data on previous work, if the boat is local to the dealer you might get some service history but the Cat system doesn’t usually retain warranty info after the warranty period has expired. Most of these boats are approaching 20 years of age so about all you will get are in service dates and whether the engines are original to the boat.
 
I second the above. Call MICHIGAN CAT (586-997-5300) and talk with Vicki Sharrow (I believe her extension is 1714) to arrange for Mike to check the engines during a sea trial and verify all updates have been corrected/performed. if they have been servicing the engines, she should be able to provide you with past service reports by providing the engine serial numbers. Good luck
 
I did an engine only survery in the Tampa area earlier this year on twin 3126s for $1600. I had a 2 man team looking over the engines from a cold start to a WOT run including pulling fluid samples from both engines, transmissions and generator. Took a full 8 hours. Local CAT dealer was Ring Power. Good guys.

Expensive, but it gave me peice if mind i was buying a boat in good working order.
 
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