3208 cat motor

[treefarmer87]

i have a chance to get a late 80s gmc topkick with a 3208 cat in it for $3500. it has 41000 mi on it it would be a good truck to add a lift axle and a prentice 110 or 120, i have heard the 3116 is a better motor. for $500 dollars more i can get a 2000 IH 4700 with a T444e, 6 sp. with 161,000 ???

[mad murdock]

Several years back we had a tank truck with a 3208 cat, it was a f900 ford louisville cab. Engine was pretty trouble free, I do have a preference towards IHC though over GMC(personal preference).

[EricR]

In my opinion i would stay away from all of them.  none of them are known for being powerhouses.  They put the 3116 in the m35a3 2.5 ton trucks and from what i read they cant get out of there own way.( i did a lot of research on them as i was going to purchase one)  I have a t444e in a 4700 low pro.  It only a 21500 gvw truck.  and its pretty much maxed out with 2 cords on it and my 30 horse kubota behind it.  ( i at all costs avoid the highway when set up like this.  It takes a long time for it to get going)  My point being in a heavier truck with a loader and load of wood i would think you would be pretty unhappy with its performance.  If your looking at internationals go for the 466 its the "million mile engine" for a reason.  as far as the gmc's i never thought they really put together a very good truck in general but thats just my 2 cents.  All of the engines will do the job, but its always nice to have a little extra when you need it

[treefarmer87]

im looking for a dependable truck to last a good while, i have a good skidder and loader, i just need a good dependable diesel truck i know of 1 guy that has a 3208 on a similar topkick with a air lift axle, he usually hauls about 30,000lbs of pulpwood on his no prob. i would like a 466 if i can get one at a good price. a good friend of mine has a 444e in his newer IH 4300, he says its a good truck but like EricR says- needs more power.

[gjersy]

One bad thing about the Cat 3208 is it has no sleeves in the engine, expensive to rebuild.

[amberwood]

I just sold a CAT 322Bl excavator with the 3116 engine, 11500hrs and still going strong. Same as the 3208 though, its a throwaway engine if things go wrong. No sleeves and my research says not really suited to overhauling.

DTR

[JDeere]

I had a 1988 GMC Topkick with the 3208 Cat motor and never had a problem with it. I sold it to a local guy about 4 years ago and told him at the time it was the best starting motor I ever owned. I saw him about a year ago and he tells me the truck still starts and goes great. I was told when I bought it that it was a throw away motor but I never did a thing to it. Power was good with 5 speed and 2-speed rear-end.

[FFLM]

We have a GMC dump at work with a 3208 and 13 spd, and I would stay far away if I was you.  That motor puts out 250 HP, its a high RPM motor and I am not impressed with the fuel economy. It dose not do well with weight, just lacks for power.

[treefarmer87]

ill keep that in mind, no sleeves scares me

[smwwoody]

Matt
Call me I can get you a super nice truck with a new dt466 for a great price

[Autocar]

Just my two cents but I would stay away from a Cat in my other Autocar I had a Cat engine and it was very exspensive to get worked on. From what Ive heard the DT466 is a good motor providing it has the horse power to pull the load. Sounds like your keeping busy  ;).

[treefarmer87]

yea i have been hauling the nicest poplar i have seen in a while

[Mark K]

I've heard of good ones and bad ones. I know there a throwaway engine, better off with a DT466 in that class of truck. We have a C13 twin turbo Cat in our 06 800 KW that everyone told us to stay away from but it has held up well. Our 97 Pete runs the C15 and has 1.1 million miles and hasnt been opened up yet. If its cheap enough and is in decent shape what have you got to lose. They all have there issues.

[lumberjack48]

I had a 1674 in a IH tractor trailer, if i hauled legal loads 78,000 it pulled it pretty good. I could run a mile a minute, if i over loaded she didn't have it, the blower would really whistle, when i started smelling cast iron i new the manifold was getting pretty hot. My first load at night, early morning i liked to put on a 100,000. It had a 5 speed with a 3 speed Eaton rear end.

Its fun pulling big Poplar. The best day the wife and me had, we pulled 52 cords of Yellow Poplar. Its like cutting Basswood

[snowstorm]

if its a cat you had its a 1693 before the days of the 3406. the 3sp rears were kind of odd. they were 2 sp rears low was bolth in low 2th was one in low one in high 3th was bolth in high. i had 2 sp rears in a lt9000 along with a 5 and a 4 double overdrive

[snowstorm]

i have a chance to get a late 80s gmc topkick with a 3208 cat in it for $3500. it has 41000 mi on it it would be a good truck to add a lift axle and a prentice 110 or 120, i have heard the 3116 is a better motor. for $500 dollars more i can get a 2000 IH 4700 with a T444e, 6 sp. with 161,000 ???

save your money for a real truck. ford ih what ever you like. but buy something heavy enought to stand up. 16 ft 44 rears 350 cummins  jake no air ride

[barbender]

My grandpa has a single axle ford 7000 with a 3208, in that application it works great. Plenty of power and really easy on fuel. In a tandem axle, however, they are slobbering gutless pigs. If you are running 25-30K gross weight they do fine. 3116's have a poor reputation in trucks from what I understand,

[treefarmer87]

was browsing the net, found 4 cab and chassis trucks, a c70 with a 8.2 det. air brakes, and 5x2, also fould a Freightliner FL 70 6 sp, air brakes. and 2 IH 4700s both air brakes, dt 466s. one is a 6 sp the other 5x2. 

[sjfarkas]

I have an international with 466 and 10spd Trans.  Even empty it's slow on the hills.  I'm planing on upgrading to a 3 axle with bigger motor because if I'm going to have a commercial truck I might as well be able to haul weight and ass at the same time.  I'd save your money and go bigger.

[EricR]

I know this may not be the best example because of what it says about the frame, but seems something like this would be the ticket for you http://nwct.craigslist.org/cto/3453149476.html

[treefarmer87]

that truck is in good shape, thats what im looking for, but im not trying to get my cdl.

[sandhills]

If you haven't yet you might try looking at Govdeals.com, they usually have a pretty wide variety of trucks on there.

[sealark37]

The 3208 was a well-designed, economical engine.  The assertion that it is a throw-away engine is patently false.  This idea was originated by users who were used to rebuilding Detroits every winter for a couple of thou in parts. For a GVW under 36,000 lbs, the 3208 will give excellent service.  Like any diesel, it should be maintained properly.  It does not use replaceable cylinder liners, but any automotive machinist can sleeve the cylinders at a reasonable cost.  Regards, Clark

[treefarmer87]

I dont have a prefrence, i just want something that will last a while and looks good, i have been working on my c 70 alot lately.

[lumberjack48]

                                                                                                               The 1674 was in a 1964 IH Emeryvill, the company had bought a hole fleet of them from IH. The guy i bought it from had 10 of them, he told me they called it at the time a competition engine, it didn't look much bigger then a 300 six cylinder Ford. It was 270 hp with a turbo charger, it ran nice, and was easy on fuel.
The 5 speed shift lever had a 3 speed air shifter button on it. Its a 12 speed, the only time i used 1 st on the main was to get moving with a big load.
When i was hauling into Cloquet, MN. i met a guy that had a 1960 Autocar, with a 220 Cummings, 5 and a 4 with a 3 speed rear end.
After running the IH for about a yr, i bought a 66 Autocar with a 250 Cummings with a 4 by 4 with 4 over. It was a old machine mover, the front wheels were set back. I loved the old rig, she'd turn on a dime, she was a good wood hauler.

treefarmer its easy to get your cdl, i had to take my driver test over in a car, i failed it [don't laugh ]  i took it in the truck and got 97 points.
Take your time, buy a rig heaver then you think you need, you usually can pick-em up cheaper. I've seen big fire trucks sell cheap, with very low miles.
The thing about bigger trucks, it can be a Ford, Chevy, KW, ect. and have the same running gear under the cab.

[treefarmer87]

I would like to get a bigger truck so i can add a loader on it too.

[lumberjack48]

I liked the loader on the back of the truck, you have so much movability with it.

[treefarmer87]

this would be nice, but its way to far for me  :(

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=3875185

[snowstorm]

that truck is in good shape, thats what im looking for, but im not trying to get my cdl.

you dont have a cdl?? you get caught you will end up in jail

[snowstorm]

The 3208 was a well-designed, economical engine.  The assertion that it is a throw-away engine is patently false.  This idea was originated by users who were used to rebuilding Detroits every winter for a couple of thou in parts. For a GVW under 36,000 lbs, the 3208 will give excellent service.  Like any diesel, it should be maintained properly.  It does not use replaceable cylinder liners, but any automotive machinist can sleeve the cylinders at a reasonable cost.  Regards, Clark

looks as if like the little cat. the latter ones werent to bad. given a choice between a 671t detriot and a 3208 i would take the 671. before it was a 3208 it was an 1160. the story i heard was that ford wanted a midrange diesel in the 70's so cat built them one

[s grinder]

Snowstorm,If Lumberjack48 had a 1693 in that cornbinder he'd have no problem pulling a 100K,they were the original[425Cat]back in the early sevenies a gravel hauler had one in a Brockway,that with 4:67 rears and a RTO125 13 trans pulled like a locomotive,also had a couple them with 12V71 Detroits,and one with a K series Cummins,that would run with the Cat but not the Detroits.The 3208 was designed for deminishing loads like delivering freight locally or oil ,where your load is getting lighter all the time.The freight company i worked for had 30 of them in LN8000 for city work,Treefarmer87 that firetruck looks like a good truck plenty heavy enough for your operation,your a young guy,get your CDL and be done with it.

[s grinder]

Snowstorm,Your right on the money,they started out with the 1140 then 1160 then 3208,Ford/Cat to make a medium duty engine to replace the big gas engines 534's and 477's and to compete with 555[triple nickel] V-8 Cummins they started out in the late 60's

[snowstorm]

Snowstorm,Your right on the money,they started out with the 1140 then 1160 then 3208,Ford/Cat to make a medium duty engine to replace the big gas engines 534's and 477's and to compete with 555[triple nickel] V-8 Cummins they started out in the late 60's

i had a 534 back in 77 didnt take long to find out that wasnt the answer. i put a 671 in that ran like a top for yrs. they i thought i needed more hp and put a 6v92 in nice motor in its day. i have cat equipment and like it but never cared much for a 3208 with its one compression ring. there are still some up here in boats some of those were pumped up tp 435hp

[treefarmer87]

im going to get my cdl, took the practice tests and passed every ? no problem.

[mad murdock]

im going to get my cdl, took the practice tests and passed every ? no problem.

Goodfor you! It will open up a whole new world for you, but keep up on yer paperwork, fines will get you. Licensing costs more, but you will also be able to haul more. Choose well, pencil it all out and you will do well with a bigger truck.

[lumberjack48]

36 yrs ago when i did a little trucking, the truckers hauling wood didn't have to have a log book. If i only hauled my own wood, all i needed was a T plate on the truck. [ farm plate ] The same with insurance on the truck, if hauling only your product, you didn't need commercial insurance. 

My first load into Cloquet i got jumped by truckers for having a T plate. I had to explain to them i didn't need a Y plate, i was a private person hauling only my product, i wasn't for hire.

This is the reason the big farmers own their own trucks, theres loop holes in everything.

[snowstorm]

you dont need a log book if you are less than a 100 miles from home

[lumberjack48]

In the winter we ran 24 hrs a day, the mills were open 24 hrs.

[treefarmer87]

there is a mill around here that stays open 24 hrs sometimes, i would need a larger truck with a better trans for traversing the steep hills on the way there.

[tractormanNwv]

I replaced a 477 gasser in a 73 Ford 880 tandem 5spd-4spd with a 3208, when it was running right the 477 would outpull the 3208 cat, but the cat always started easier. Although somewhat old, my future toy hauler is a pleasure to drive, 430hp 8V-92 Detroit, 12513  13spd trans, 44,000lb rears with factory double frame, just need to replace the dump bed with a flat.
Merry Christmas Everyone.

Jim

  

[snowstorm]

I replaced a 477 gasser in a 73 Ford 880 tandem 5spd-4spd with a 3208, when it was running right the 477 would outpull the 3208 cat, but the cat always started easier. Although somewhat old, my future toy hauler is a pleasure to drive, 430hp 8V-92 Detroit, 12513  13spd trans, 44,000lb rears with factory double frame, just need to replace the dump bed with a flat.
Merry Christmas Everyone.

Jim

 

it must be a green Detroit the silver ones were 475hp in a boat they were 750hp

[tractormanNwv]

Yes originally it was green, now it is red. I wish it was a silver, the green goblins were noted for cracked heads if you got them overheated, but....this had almost 8,000 dollars in an out of frame rebuild done to it, so it should last a while.