3208 cat motor

treefarmer87 · December 10, 2012, 09:52:23 PM

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 · December 10, 2012, 10:12:54 PM

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 · December 10, 2012, 10:25:33 PM

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 · December 10, 2012, 11:55:12 PM

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 · December 11, 2012, 12:40:47 AM

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

amberwood · December 11, 2012, 03:39:47 AM

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 · December 11, 2012, 05:54:35 AM

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 · December 11, 2012, 06:07:08 AM

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 · December 11, 2012, 07:34:39 AM

ill keep that in mind, no sleeves scares me

smwwoody · December 11, 2012, 10:09:53 AM

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

Autocar · December 11, 2012, 04:35:59 PM

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 · December 11, 2012, 05:47:19 PM

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

Mark K · December 11, 2012, 06:38:47 PM

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 · December 11, 2012, 07:09:17 PM

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 · December 11, 2012, 08:13:14 PM

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 · December 11, 2012, 08:17:47 PM

Quote from: treefarmer87 on December 10, 2012, 09:52:23 PM
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 · December 11, 2012, 10:31:23 PM

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 · December 11, 2012, 11:07:32 PM

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 · December 11, 2012, 11:51:09 PM

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 · December 12, 2012, 07:33:14 AM

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 · December 12, 2012, 08:09:08 AM

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

sandhills · December 12, 2012, 10:50:34 AM

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

sealark37 · December 12, 2012, 03:16:54 PM

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 · December 12, 2012, 03:29:31 PM

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 · December 12, 2012, 04:29:55 PM

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.