[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.