[HandsFree]

I will be going to look at a 1996 3700 with cat 3208's 435 hp. Not sure of the hours but I believe less than 2000.  Is there anything specific I should check for or make sure of during my walk through?  If I am interested I will get a survey done and have cat come out and go through the engines.  Never owned  diesel before so kind of unsure of myself. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[jclark003]

Diesel engines need to be propped correctly or the service life will be severely reduced. unlike a gas engine when you advance the throttles on a diesel you are instructing the governer to achieve a desired rpm and it will throw as much fuel as needed to achieve that engine speed. When a Diesel engine is over propped, the engine is essentially overloaded all the time.

Get the maintenance records in advance of Cat coming out including oil sample results if avaiable. Go over them carefully with the technician and have him explain what has been done. You can compare maintenance records with Cats published maintenance schedule yourself if you want.

Your Cat guy should know this but make sure the engine can achieve "rated speed" + 2-3% at WOT. I believe the 3208 is rated at 2800 so say 2850 (with a heavy load) would be ideal. If it doesn't reach rated speed then either something is off or it is overloaded, definitely something to pay attention to. Also coolant temp should remain constant at WOT and not creep up. smoke on cold startup is ok but should clear quickly. It's also ok for the engines to smoke a little while boat goes on plane, but should not show visible smoke or haze while at cruise speed. Prolonged hesitation and smoke while trying to get on plane could indicate warn turbo turbine/hot housings.

Other than that there really isn't too much you can check on these engines. Your Cat guy will be equipped to check a lot more and that could be the best money you ever spend. The 3208 has a very good reputation, is very reliable and if maintained properly should have a long service life. I believe 435 is the highest HP rating for that engine so cooling system maintenance is critical.

Good luck, hope you land a nice boat.

[Crackofdawn]

I bought a 1995 3600 Open last year with the same engines. jclark003's input is dead on. 2850 rpms is what you should look for at wot. I cruise at 2250-2300. At this RPM I am cruising at 23-25 knots depending on current. These engines will smoke at start up and if it is cold out (below 40 degrees), they will run you off the dock. I have block heaters that keep the engines between 90 to 110 degrees and is great for winter storage in the water. Also running the block heaters greatly reduces the smoke at start up to a very acceptable amount for you and your neighbors. If you research these engines at this hp they have a bad reputation. Most if the problems seem to relate to a low tolerant to overheating, poor maintenance and running them at top rpms or overloaded. I have been real happy with the boat and engines so far. The engines should start up immediately, if mine turn over a full revolution, something is wrong.

Good Luck

[CaptBrett]

Make sure you get oil samples


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