Caterpillar

well swishy..i will give you that,,,
but i guess after runnin a detroit, you need to learn to improvise!
chocs

"In 1981, Cat did a substantial re-design of the engine, and it got bigger oil lines, bigger water pump, re-designed injection pump, a new block, heavier conrods and little end bushings. Three ring pistons were introduced for turbo applications, and turbocharged 3208's appeared.

Cat decided they had now a decent motor, and rated one configuration of the 3208 as a "construction" build, and they began to install the engine in some Caterpillar earthmoving lines (613 scraper and 225 excavator) as a medium-duty construction engine. It was also fitted to the larger Cat (Towmotor) forklifts."

Ron, they used the original 2 ringer from day one on the 613 scraper when it came out in '69...can't remember what the green range topped out at on the tacho now, but they were only set @ 150h.p.

Chox

Improvise U say
my aim would B like McGiver
B able to make a jumbo jet or KW truck with a paper clip, fencin wire n a cupla MT beer cans
My Hero
WotSayU
Cant do th@ for a Infernal Nash Anul TranstR with a Crumminz

LOL
Cya
[ch9787]

And thats exactly what many did with the small V series Cummins,overloaded them and wondered why they gave trouble in an application they were'nt designed for.The 555 is a smaller displacement than a 3208 and was probably used more for interstate and heavy work when they were introduced.Some lasted well some didn't.

sort of a similar story with the V8 perkins.. although they do seem to last well ..there were a few sold in oz for use in single drive prime movers pulling milk tankers . . the rest seemed to be in heavy rigid trucks

Rusted - Thanks for the correction, I can't recall the precise setup of every application. I didn't check the ring number setup in the 613 on my engines fiche.
I'd guess Cat reckoned 2 rings was enough for 150 HP. I know the high HP turbo 3208's used the 3 ring setup.

There are no less than 193 variations of performance specifications for the 3208 (multiplying the 5 basic engine configurations X HP outputs X S/N range X EPA specifications X application).

Each Cat engine has a Performance Specification reference (fiche or publications commencing with "OT", and then a 4 digit number).
These OT specifications give engine model and type, fuel settings, HP output, oil pressure readings, high and low RPM settings, usually injector nozzle P/No's, plus several other specs.

To check on actual engine build components, one needs to acquire the parts book for the particular engine S/N range, and then go through the book to find the S/N range that the engine falls into.
Only then can one find the precise components used, such as piston P/No and the number of rings.

Found some scans I had, of the Cat 3208 Remanufactured Engine factory in Bettendorf, Iowa ..

This production line churned out 35 Remanufactured 3208's a day, in the late 1980's.

Left click on the last 3 pics once they open, to re-size the pic to full scanned size ..

img15.imageshack.us/img15/8908/3208rebuild1.jpg

img15.imageshack.us/img15/8579/3208rebuild2.jpg

img15.imageshack.us/img15/9981/3208rebuild3.jpg

img15.imageshack.us/img15/7312/3208rebuild4.jpg

In the link below, is THE definitive 3208 rebuild page. This page outlines all the crucial design differences and changes between the 1100, 3100 (industrial), and 3208 engines.
This webpage is absolutely invaluable for anyone rebuilding a 3208.

Another point that's important, is .. when doing the timing, and you have the dial gauge on the piston .. advance the timing .. by using .005" before TDC as the timing point .. rather than TDC as the book says.

This is a trick revealed to us by an 80 yr old Cat engine mechanic, who said it makes the engine perform much better, and it eliminated the 3208's occasional tendency to hit and miss at full throttle.

www.enginebuildermag.com/Article/65725/r...cat_3208_diesel.aspx

Thank you for all the advice, it looks like ive got alot to look at when i get my hands on my baby cat. Here are some pics of the Detroit i mentioned earlier. the smaller hole and the trouble maker

Little_red - Is that a 60 series Detroit? It doesn't look like a 2 stroke Detroit. I've seen very few 2 stroke Detroits blow up, they are pretty bullet-proof.

Re the 3208 .. I should mention that the automatic advance timing mechanism, as outlined in the Engine Rebuilder link, is a very important item to check out and recondition/replace if necessary.
Notice that the Engine Rebuilder article has a whole chapter on this device. If you re-assemble a 3208 without reconditioning, or making sure, that the automatic advance timing mechanism is in good shape, you will soon have a lot of engine problems.