before. Pull a sample after a good run to send to SOS or black stone then change filter and oil
Official Caterpillar3116/3126 Thread
- Thread starter carterchapman
- Start date
before. Pull a sample after a good run to send to SOS or black stone then change filter and oil
I took the top off my Groco strainer, drilled and tapped it so I can thread in a 3/4” ball valve then put a garden hose fitting on the other end. Makes flushing the engines with fresh water after each run a breeze. Works just as well for flushing with barnacle buster or for introducing antifreeze for winterization.
And if they’re hard to get to, U can just leave a short length of garden hose permanently attached to the ball valve and route it to the front of the bilge for easier access.
here’s the setup. 10g bucket, valve, and hose. Takes 45 minutes max including cleanup. I join the two hoses with a barb but past the strainer because the strainer takes almost a gallon. I just vacuum the water out of the strainer instead
Last edited:
yobub
Well-Known Member
I always change in the fall so the old oil doesn't sit in the engine over the winter. When I paid the dealer to change my oil, they said the same thing. It was always part of the winterization package.
mrsrobinson
Well-Known Member
This is pretty much what I did with my last boats that stayed in the water, I'd shop vac the strainer versus filling it. I disconnected the strainer hose on the engine side, then dropped that in the bucket. I had room for a bucket on those boats though. I like yours, and I have all the barb fittings/hoses from cleaning the coolers.
- Oct 6, 2006
- 12,155
- Boat Info
- 1996 450DA
- Engines
- 3116 Caterpillars
I prefer to wait until temperatures cool down as late in the fall as I can run the engines and get them up to operating temperature so that removing the old oil also removes as much of the moisture that condensed in the crankcase over the year as possible. If you wait until spring to change the oil then all the trapped moisture in the engine just sits there corroding away at really expensive engine parts all winter long.
- Oct 6, 2006
- 12,155
- Boat Info
- 1996 450DA
- Engines
- 3116 Caterpillars
I spent more time than I care to admit wading thru Caterpillar, Shell and Chevron publications trying to make sense of various conflicting statements. Cat is unusual in once they sell engines, they keep the list of recommended/required fluids current. That is great for conscienscious owners because the list of recommended fluids is always current. The bad news is that Cat owners also need to stay current with the list if fluids their engines need. Owers of other engine makes are prettty much on their own when it comes to staying current on fluids requirements.
I used Rotella SAE 40 because SAEO was not available at the Cat dealer I use in Nashville and I continued to use it because Shell Technical service folks told me that there was no change in formulation when they started calling it Rotella T1 and changed the packaging. Based on that, I continued to use T-1 SAE-40 until 2020 when my local Sea Ray dealer started using T-4 15w-40 when SAE 40 got very scarce. I confirmed these choices with annual oil sampling and monitoring the results for changes, and there were none.
I’m also torn on whether to switch or not. On one hand, we only run 50-100 hours a year at 2000-2200 rpm and sample annually with SOS. I’d imagine I would see any accelerated wear in the reports in the fall sticking with T1.
on the other hand, I have boost gauges that should expose any sort of intake path clogging still being caused by the multi-viscosity oil (even though cat claims it will no longer happen)
it would be great if one of you other guys could change to DEO-ULS, go run about 100 hours in a month, and report back with your analysis report. Not a big ask, right?
mrsrobinson
Well-Known Member
Just bought 14 gallons of Shell Rotella T4 Triple Protection 15W-40 from Walmart, will be delivered to my door for $215.
Hey Frank,
Previously the multi-viscosity oils were forbidden due to the crankcase oil vapors in the intake charge depositing in the aftercooler and causing aftercooler performance issues. To my knowledge this was the only issue the oils had (other than not being included in the approved lube list from Cat). Consequently, in my 3116TA's, I always used Rotella T1 and never had aftercooler issues nor issues with the annual oil samples and I think I put over 1500 hours on those engines. Now, it appears that Cat has revised it's approved lube list and dropped the single viscosity but picked up the multi-viscosity oils. The question is - did the formulations change that much? Or, are we going to have to accept the deposition in the aftercoolers?
Njlarry
Well-Known Member
Ratings aside, the above multi vs single issue leads me to stay with single wt T1 for now.
mrsrobinson
Well-Known Member
THIS - concerns me, thanks for replying . Unless the formulation was changed, will I experience aftercooler issues?
Frank's reply about making the switch and then doing oil samples for 2 years, and experiencing no issues, it's comforting.
Last edited:
kvduff
Well-Known Member
I Think it was explained that the t-1 is basically a 2 stroke diesel oil and isn’t suitable for our motors any longer.
this is the part I would love to understand further. I don't necessarily doubt it, and I don't think CAT takes this stuff lightly, but the reality is that my engine runs the same today as it did 22 years ago less the fuel. If today's fuel creates a requirement for different oil I could buy into that, but the fuel isn't mentioned in those bulletins from what I've read
That leaves the oil formation as the variable. So, either:
1) T1 was reformulated to become 'worse' and no longer suitable for 4-stroke turbocharged engines
2) the additives in multi-vis oil got 'better' and no longer leave deposits in the aftercooler
3) multi-vis will leave deposits and it's on the owners to keep up on maintenance. Maybe AC cleaning becomes a more regular task?
- Jun 2, 2008
- 5,025
- Boat Info
- 1998 450 Sundancer, Achilles dinghy w/15hp
- Engines
- 3126 Cat's
T-4 good - T-1 bad
Our great oil debate overshadowed you. Exactly where is the oil coming out now, the block mating surface or at the turbo?
gmaki
Member
Thanks for bumping me back into the conversation. The good news I am going to change oil on both engines so the oil discussion was relevant too. I just ordered 18 gallons of T4 15/40 from Walmart so I am ready once I finally take care of this leak.
Now back to the leak, it is coming out at the bottom of the lower elbow if that makes sense. I had previous posts about this in the 400/410 thread but I will just post the image of the part I replaced here which should paint the whole picture. As seen in the image the elbow was cracked and oil spewed out of it. Ordered the new part, waited two weeks for it to ship from Russia. Installed the whole oil line with new gaskets/O-rings everywhere and of course the brand new part.
Now one thing we did discover is the old cracked parts flat mating surface isn't even perfectly flat. We did not notice it until after we installed the new one, so I did not check it before we installed.
Anyway it appears to be getting past the O-ring and then slowly dripping out the bottom. Like I said tightening the bolts reduces the flow but we are on the verge of cracking the new elbow at this point.
Attachments
I'd get the elbow off and check both surfaces with a straight edge to see how far out they are. There is no pressure in that tube, its just draining back to the block, so it must have a pretty significant gap. Once you know how far out it is you could get a bigger o-ring or file the surfaces flat
- Oct 6, 2006
- 12,155
- Boat Info
- 1996 450DA
- Engines
- 3116 Caterpillars
Tom,
According to the oil lab at Thompson Caterpillar in Nashville, Cat's analysis of commercially available multi viscosity lube oils has shown them that the additive package used in API licensed CH-4…. thru CK-4 and that meet Caterpillar ECF-2 & ECF-3 specification have improved substantially and no longer pose a risk of aftercooler fouling from deposits collecting in the intake stream. This is why they no longer sell SAEO for 3116 and 3126 unit injection engines.
Our Sea Ray dealer in Panama City changed to Rotella 15-w40 a couple of years ago and none of the Catetpillar boats they service have experienced any aftercooler fouling in the intake air side of the after cooler since they changed.
can’t really argue with real-world examples!
I’ll switch out to DEO-ULS 15w-40 in the spring. Anyone want 14g of T1 30w with 1 hr on the oil?
