3208 cat in motorhome

[Wray]

I am looking at a 1988 used 40' Foretravel Motorhome to purchase. It has a 3208 300 HP Cat. with 4 speed Allison each about 110k miles, weighs about 30,000 lbs. and can pull 10'000 lbs. trailor. How good is this engine trans. combination? How many miles is the engine good for? any weak links with the motor, like water erosion of cylinder walls on some V8 Cats?





04. 5 SLT 3500, SRW auto, long bed, 373 white TSP, A Post, 3 gages, alcoa wheels, bushwacker flares.



94 SLT 2500 atuo, 354 posi, TSP, transgo shift kit, alcoa michelen wheels, rotella, white, 155K .

 

[nickleinonen]

i believe the 3208 was cat's throwaway engine [not designed for rebuilds... ] but they did eventually start making dry sleeves for it when the bores were machined out to accept them. i can't remember much more about it though. . [it's been like 3 years now since i learned about them in school]

 

[ndurbin]

The injection pump gears have been known to weld to the injection pump shaft when the pump lets go. That can get quite interesting to fix. I had that happen to a floater I was running for a COOP one summer. Other than that it never gave me much trouble the whole summer. But I have heard some bad things about them, just don't remember any at the moment.



Nathan

 

[CPjMech]

The 3208 isn't really that bad of an eng, lots and lots of school buses run them. We do call them 32o'smokes though, just have the timing advanced a little and they will burn pretty clean. On buses we suggest rod and main bearings around 100,000miles (your mileage may vary). As far as the cooling system, have never seen any corrosion problems like the 3408 & 3412's. There is a drain bolt on the back of the governor hsg to drain the fuel and any water that might have collected back there, good idea to drain that once a year or so. And you can buy sleeves and have a machine shop resleeve if needed. They are heavy though, not a lot of torque for it's displacement (540ci i think 710lbft). Not too bad of a runner though.

 

[Jeff H]

Keep looking.

 

[WDaniels]

Keep looking.

i believe the 3208 was cat's throwaway engine

Correct to both. 3208's are generally only good for one rebuild if the block isn't to bad. I wouldn't take one for a salt water boat anchor. And unless they have radically changed, they are only a two ring pistion, which means they will blubber oil out the exhaust if you let them run, and 300 horses for a 3208 sounds a little high. But maybe just maybe they can get that from them. Strictly a light duty in town diesel, just like the powerjoke and the diapermax.

 

[CUMAPART]

I know the 3208 that's in the tandem axle dump at work is only rated at 210hp. The thing is a dog. Not what I would want in a coach if I was looking for one. Keep looking my . 02 worth.

 

[tkerrigan]

People that I have talked to that have Allison 4 speeds are looking for 6 speeds. 4 speeds never have the right gear for pulling hills.

 

[juicedcummins]

The 3208 is along the same line as any v/8. You have to wind'em up and the more gears the better. I ran one fo a friend in harvest a few years back and it dropped 2 valves in one night. It also was hard to keep cool.

 

[JUeckert]

the 3208 cat was a good engine for its time,the later ones like you are looking at were even better. the engine has a history dateing back to the late 70,s . the engine was derived from the old 1160 cat,which went back to the 60,s. these engines were the top diesel option for chevy,ford mediums. international also offered them as a option. they could also be found in many types of industrial equipment applications,and some of the larger farm tractors,they were also used in marine applications. rv and marine apps could be had with higher hp. these engines were nicknamed throwaway engines by many,because they were the only engines cat made at that time ,that didnt have sleeves. they were rebuildable,and as some one mentioned earlier could also be bored and sleeved. these engines had excellent lowend torque,and even without a turbo were good performers in the proper application. {single axle trucks}. the most common complaint about these engines were,excess smoke, even worse when cold,earlier engines had oil control probs,{piston ring design} . they were also a siamesed cylinder type block,{there are no cooling jackets}between the cylinders, which ment they could not take a long period of excess heat without cracking something. with the proper cooling system overheating is not a problem. i have owned two of these engines in single axle dumps,both had over 200k on them with no major repairs. i have seen numerous 3208 cats with over 250k on them. if the engine checks out ok,it will proably serve you well,dont expect stellar peformance with that 4spd ally however... . another note,these engines are no longer produced,for factory installs,while there are plenty of them in salvage yards,and parts can still be had,they may start becoming a bit more pricey.....

 

[RDupree]

3208

lots and lots of 3208's in motorhomes,300 hp means its intercooled. the motorhome engines are 3 ring pistons. i would take a 3208 over any other electronic cat,at least you can fix a 3208!simple pump,good power,great motorhome engine. theres tons of motorhomes out there running 3208s. i say go for it. i work on bluebird wanderlodges,lots of the older ones have the 3208,still running fine after 20 plus years...

 

[MMiller]

Wow, lots of opinions here! This summer I pulled three injection pumps with broken governor housings. 2 had broken transfer pump housing, mainly becuase of the broken governor housings. One I had apart earlier this year broke a ring. We honed it and put a piston in it as a short block is about $12,000. 300 hps you can't buy a complete motor from Cat. You have to buy a short block, reman heads, and then pull the fuel system off your engine and put on the new setup.



I have seen from working on them, that either guys love them or hate them. Either you get one that uses no oil, or you have one that the operator dumps a gallon a day in them, when working hard.



Injection pump timing can make them run bad if not set right. They are very touchy to time.



*I* won't own one, but then again, I do not enjoy v-8 diesels(unless its a 2 stroke ). As said above kinda low on torque for cubes, they like some more revs.



In an rv it would probably be a good buy, as it probably wasn't molested too badly. Dunno about the 4 spd ally though, everything I work on with an ally, is backed with a range box, or brownie box, to get enough ratios. A terregator in the field is differnt then an RV.



Good luck with your decision.



Michael

 

[Anthony fontes]

I have a 3208 cat in a diesel pusher motorhome that runs.for sale if the offer is good!

 

[jhenderson]

I’d be suspicious of the tow rating. Many motor homes have flimsy frames in back and have a tendency break at or around the hitch when the tongue load meets a bumpy road.

 

[DonFitzwater]

You guys do realize this thread is 15 years old, right?

 

[jhenderson]

do now.

 

[Wayne M.]

I know there are still 3208’s and other half fossilized V8 mosquito killers running around- especially in boats.

 

[jhenderson]

The tanker I just helped service at a neighboring Vol Fire Co has one in it. Then there’s the Silver 6v92 in the engine we just finished servicing last night for the same Co. Vol.fire companies learn to make do with older equipment.

 

[Wayne M.]

I don’t mind older diesels, especially any Detroit, but I have a certain contempt for V8’s like that Cat and that junk 9L cornbinder and the GM 8.2 fuel pincher.

 

[p-Bar]

what do you think of the Cat C7?