Just bought a 1999 40 express last year. Had a great 1st summer and learned a lot about the boat. I have the 3208 cats in it so if anyone out there has any good experience with these engines, would love to hear from you. Home port is Sandusky, Ohio so if you are local and have the same similar boat, drop me a message. Need all the advice I can get. Great boat so far and looking forward to our 2nd season. Going in the water soon!!
Congrats! The 4000 Express was cutting edge back in the early 90s when it was introduced and of course was the inspiration for the current Sovran line-up. The 4000 was a very popular vessel and many were sold.
The CAT 3208TAs @ 435HP each where great engines. They tend to run well and have a long lifespan if they are maintained properly. The CAT needs fresh oil yearly or every 150 hours (whichever occurs first). It also is very sensitive to overheating. This is a non-sleeved block and if it overheats, it will become a boat anchor. Maintaining the cooling system is one of the most important things to do on a CAT 3208. I personally would have the heat exchangers and coolers cleaned every two years (or 500 hours whichever occurs first) and install new raw water impellers every season. If there is even a hint the engines are running warmer than they should, bring the engines down to idle and allow the temp to drop into normal range before shutting down. If you have a catastrophic failure of the cooling system, shut down immediatly of course. I believe your engines like to run at 175 to 185 degrees. Anything north of 200 will destroy the engine. I have seen 3208s run 5000 to 7000 hours in recreational vessels when maintained meticulously. I have also seen them run to near 20,000 hours in comercial applications (lower horsepower).
Have your engines serviced every season. Make sure to have your engine block freeze plugs inspected each year as well. I have seen a freeze plug pop and blow all of the coolent out of the engine in a matter of seconds thereby causing engine failure.
Don't let all of this scare you, I just want you to be aware that cooling systems are important in all engines, but particularly in a non-sleeved diesel. The 3208 is one of the best engine designs of out there and will give you many hours of trouble free operation if mainted properly.
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