Cat 3116TA's

[Bobadoo®]

Hey Guys...

Brand new to the site, looks awesome.

I have been out of boating for about 7 years (divorce)...My last was a '95 330 Dancer with twin 7.4's

I am looking at a 1996 440DA with Cat 3116TA's...Boat has never left the Great Lakes.

They have just over 1000 hours on them and I was wondering if you guys could enlighten me on the longevity of these motors.

I have had a couple of friends tell me that there were head problems with some of these motors and that eventually caused the parting of Sea Ray and Cat.

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

~Bob

 

[ImpulseIII]

Bob,
Try doing a search. Lots of information has changed hands about Caterpillar engines over the past year +. Welcome to CRS.

 

[fwebster]

You can find a lot of stuff here on Cat engines if you search for it. After reading what is here, let me know if you have questions and I'll fill in the blanks. In the meantime, here are some facts to digest relative to your points:

1. Longevity - 3116's are great engines and have been in over-the-road trucks for years. The longest I know of them running in boats is in a charter boat in NW Fla. When I saw him last October, the owner had 12,600 hours on a pair and his only repair cost outside of normal maintenance was one injector pump, 3-4 injectors, and an alternator. He's also fished almost every day since the first of March as well. This guy is 70 and has run diesel charter boats since the 50's so he knows how to take care of them. I've got nearly 1000 hours on mine and all I have done is maintain them and run them.

2. Caterpillars did not ever have a head problem. In about 1996-1999, their valve supplier, TRW, shipped a number of valves that were under spec. on hardness. This made the valves soft and prone to failure. Once an engine dropped a valve, it usually required at least a valve job and sometimes a head replacement to repair it, but there never was a head problem. A '96 may have had the soft valves at one time, but the valves usually failed between 100-125 hours, so with 1100 hours on your engines, you don't have to worry about that.

3. Cat vs. Sea Ray?......The internet is full of speculation about this, but the truth of the matter is that Brunswick, Sea Ray's parent company, struck a marketing deal with Cummins Engines to market marine engines under the name Cummins/Mercruiser. To continue to use Cat engines would be like Chevrolet using Ford engines. Caterpillar fixed or replaced any engines in Sea Rays that caused problems as long as the owner maintained them properly. I'm sure there are a few upset owners out there who did not get Caterpillar to repair their engine problem because Caterpillar/Sea Ray couldn't tell if the failure was due to a defective part or abuse and ignored maintenance, but this was not the reason Sea Ray stopped using Cat engines.


If you are a serious buyer for the 440DA, make your purchase contingent on both a hull survey and a mechanical survey. You need to get a Cat certified dealer to do the engine survey. There are some key maintenance needs on the 3116 and someone who knows the engines should evaluate them. At a minimum, you should request a blow-by test (something like a compression test for a gas engine)as well as fluid analyses for coolant, engine oil and transmission fluid in both the main engines and trhe generator. Expect the mechanical survey to take 6-8 hours on the boat and the technician will need to run the boat for an hour or so.

Lastly, I'm sure it is just an error, but there were no 440DA's in 1996. This model was discontinued in 1995 when the 450DA was introduced........I really hope it is a 450DA you are looking at since Sea Ray got everything right on that one.

 

[Bobadoo®]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I did do a little searching before I posted, but think I probably needed to refine it better...There was so much info.

fwebster...

My bad, it's a 1995 440DA and thank you for all the info...What you posted was exactly what I was looking for.

~Bob

 

[fwebster]

Bob,

You are welcome, I'm glad to help others understand and learn about the boats.

I wrote up some FAQ's in a different lifetime covering a lot of Sea Ray specific questions and answers. One of them has to do with Caterpillar engine problems. It may make for some interesting reading, but honestly, the year and engine you are considering isn't involved or is well past the danger point. If you are interested, send me an email address via the PM link on the forum and I'll send you a copy...its an MS Word .doc file.

 

[osd9]

Bob:

Good luck with your search and keep us posted. We like to share in other's experience with their Sea Rays....that's what this board is all about.....helping fellow Sea Ray owners and those in search of their first/next Sea Ray.

You're in good hands with FW.....his Diesel (especialy CAT) expertise is top notch....

Many others here also have loads of Sea Ray experience and will also help you and offer their thoughts and advise.... :thumbsup: