Official Caterpillar3116/3126 Thread

mrsrobinson said:
I plan to drain, flush and refill the antifreeze in both engines this fall. I've been Googling to learn how to do this, and not finding any great results.

Is there an article or a link here someone can refer me to?
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I can copy/paste the service manual but you drain, fill with plain water and run up to temp, drain, fill back up with AF. I’d usually needs a topoff as well once air escapes

Draining is messy, epsoecially on the port side. You pull the plug from the J pipe at the engines lowest point. I’ll be putting in valves next time so I can hook a pump up
 
Get the CAT engine flush and fill with that - bring the engine up to temperature and circulate the cleaner then drain flush with water then good to go for ELC fill.
The antifreeze will form a layer of slime on the cylinders and compromise the heat transfer if not changed per CAT requirements. It's that slime as well as other contam. that the CAT engine flush will get rid of.
 
100% +++ on using the CAT engine flush!

This is yet another means to get your systems back to BASELINE, as is often discussed around here.

Baseline, baseline, baseline, then it's all about normal maintenance.

This has always been my own philosophy with boats and cars, and it works well.

BEST !

RWS
 
I called my local Carter machinery regarding the flush. He had never heard of it, he did some checking and called me back, and suggested this. Does this look right to you guys?

Screenshot_20230908-124536.png
 
Anyone have the tooling for the injector sleeves and timing in california that would rent them?
 
mrsrobinson said:
I plan to drain, flush and refill the antifreeze in both engines this fall. I've been Googling to learn how to do this, and not finding any great results.

Is there an article or a link here someone can refer me to?
Click to expand...
Greg,

This boat maintenance thing, even on diesels, cannot always be done via you tube. Changing coolant is about an hour's job and it takes longer to dispose of the old coolant and put the new coolant on the boat than it does to do the job.

Finding the drain plug is probably the main challenge. Find the 1-1/2" brass tube on the rear of the stbd inboard side of the engine; opposite side on the port engine.Remove the drain plug ( hex head cap; has an o-ring- Seal so don't over tighten) and put a catch pan under the drain hole, drain the coolant. Replace the drain plug, then refill the engine with coolant. After the coolant is replaced, start the engine and bring the engine up to operating temperature to purge any air that may be topped in the system. Check the coolant level the next day you run the boat to be sure you have purged any air that was trapped.


Frank
 
VESSELALIBI said:
Anyone have the tooling for the injector sleeves and timing in california that would rent them?
Click to expand...
I still cannot find a local mobile diesel mechanic who will come to my boat and has insurance (marina requires this) to do the injector height adjustments. I got a quote this week for $2,500 plus about $500 in travel from a reputable place about 90 minutes from me. Seems a bit high to me.

My girlfriend's brother-in-law, who used to be a CAT mechanic, is putting a list together of the tools I need to buy for him to do it. I hope to have that list in a week or two, then get the work done in another week or two. I've been putting off doing this because I won't have a need for these tools after that. Perhaps we can work something out where you can use them or buy them.
 
fwebster said:
Greg,

This boat maintenance thing, even on diesels, cannot always be done via you tube. Changing coolant is about an hour's job and it takes longer to dispose of the old coolant and put the new coolant on the boat than it does to do the job.

Finding the drain plug is probably the main challenge. Find the 1-1/2" brass tube on the rear of the stbd inboard side of the engine; opposite side on the port engine.Remove the drain plug ( hex head cap; has an o-ring- Seal so don't over tighten) and put a catch pan under the drain hole, drain the coolant. Replace the drain plug, then refill the engine with coolant. After the coolant is replaced, start the engine and bring the engine up to operating temperature to purge any air that may be topped in the system. Check the coolant level the next day you run the boat to be sure you have purged any air that was trapped.


Frank
Click to expand...
Thanks, yes I've been wondering where I can take the old coolant for disposal. My girlfriend's brother-in-law said they never did a flush unless the coolant was contaminated with oil or fuel. Keep in mind he didn't work on marine engines, mostly RVs, buses, and heavy equipment.
 
mrsrobinson said:
I still cannot find a local mobile diesel mechanic who will come to my boat and has insurance (marina requires this) to do the injector height adjustments. I got a quote this week for $2,500 plus about $500 in travel from a reputable place about 90 minutes from me. Seems a bit high to me.

My girlfriend's brother-in-law, who used to be a CAT mechanic, is putting a list together of the tools I need to buy for him to do it. I hope to have that list in a week or two, then get the work done in another week or two. I've been putting off doing this because I won't have a need for these tools after that. Perhaps we can work something out where you can use them or buy them.
Click to expand...
I purchased the tool set last night. It should be here Tuesday. You’re welcome to have your brother in law use it on yours. It cost 2200 for the timing set. I got the injector setting tool and the sleeve removal/install tool for an additional 1500. Send me a message and I’ll give you my cell. I am sure we can work something out.
 
mrsrobinson said:
Regarding the ELC Coolant part #, I have seen 2-3 different #'s on this site/thread.

Is this what I want? 7.4 gallons per engine? I assume a little less because one cannot get all of the antifreeze out.


@Magic you referenced https://parts.cat.com/en/carter/365-8396, which looks to be the same as above only a larger container.
Click to expand...

This is what my local Cat service agent told me to order/use and the engine has been running well within temp since the change.
 
Quick question on draining the coolant. Does the 3116 need to be brought up to temp first (i.e. Tstat open) in order to drain the coolant? For the life of me I can't remember if I did or didn't get them to operating temp before draining 5 yrs ago.
 
Chris L said:
Quick question on draining the coolant. Does the 3116 need to be brought up to temp first (i.e. Tstat open) in order to drain the coolant? For the life of me I can't remember if I did or didn't get them to operating temp before draining 5 yrs ago.
Click to expand...
Drain it cold. If it's hot, it will be under pressure, and will burn the hell out of you if you get it on you. Same thing with checking the expansion tank on the engine. Don't open while hot.
 
mrsrobinson said:
Regarding the ELC Coolant part #, I have seen 2-3 different #'s on this site/thread.

Is this what I want? 7.4 gallons per engine? I assume a little less because one cannot get all of the antifreeze out.

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@Magic you referenced https://parts.cat.com/en/carter/365-8396, which looks to be the same as above only a larger container.
Click to expand...
I use Cat ELC in all of my diesel powered equipment. I buy all the ELC from Thompson Caterpillar in Lavergne (Nashville), TN. Over the last 20 years, I have bought at least 4 differenet ELC part numbers from the Cat store.

Cat changes part numbers every time they change the packaging. Just be sure you are using
 
Was there any conclusion to the great oil debate from last fall? After reading 40 pages of this thread I still can't tell whether the Shell Rotella T4 15W-40 that I used last year is still OK.
 
yobub said:
Was there any conclusion to the great oil debate from last fall? After reading 40 pages of this thread I still can't tell whether the Shell Rotella T4 15W-40 that I used last year is still OK.
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I just filled up with DEO-ULS 15w-30 (after running T1 30w for a year) because it was readily available in 5g buckets and cheaper than rotella

the engines still run and didn't burn oil so far, so that's good :)

I did have to adjust my idle on one engine though, it was hunting a bit post oil change
 
Follow up to temperature issue
When the stbd helm temp gauge would erratically climb, I would jump into the engine room to check the engine mounted gauges. I found the stbd engine mounted gauge read normal while the helm gauge would read about 15 degrees higher. I still need to source sender.

second issue: the port helm gauge read normal but the engine mounted gauge read high. Solution was: remove engine gauge and place on stove in pan with water and slowly bring to boil while graphing readings and comparing to a digital thermometer. Result was engine gauge was off up to 16 degrees possibly due to semi kink in tube. Replaced engine mounted gauge.
hope this helps.
 
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