Cat3126 or DT466

whitehorse

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Posts
1,054
Reaction score
1
Location
Jacksonville Al.
I work at a welding supply company and have driven both. The cat...well lets just say they are gutless. We had many issues with injectors and a sensor i cant remember now, but on the other hand i drive a 03 dt466 and its a night and day difference. Plenty of power and they are also cheaper to operate cause your not paying for the cat name.....
 

tbirdfiend281

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2005
Posts
898
Reaction score
11
Location
Eldersburg/Sykesville, MD
well now there is a good arguement for the DT to be the choice. I didnt think of the price point of the cat vs the DT, but, the DT should be cheaper to have, and actually should be easy to obtain parts for, being as the C7/3126 has since been killed off. So that in my book is a clear win. The DT parts interchange quite readily also.
 

idiabuse

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2005
Posts
1,242
Reaction score
4
Location
Princeton Fl
I work for a company that contracts with the US Military (we build the Stryker) My job consist of nothing but 3126 and C7 engine work as well as dyno testing every engine. I have worked on hundreds of 3126s and have only seen catastrophic failure due to solders filling the intake with water while on the wash rack. These are solid engines the only real down fall or "Achilles heal" for the 3126 is the crossover tubes for the HEUI system. They develop hairline cracks and leak off oil pressure which would be used for injection actuation. The C7 uses the same block as the 3126 but has a re-designed head which eliminates the use of the crossover tubes. There is some other physical differences but they are basically the same engine. From my experience if your looking for the power I usually see better numbers out of the 3126 than the C7 at roughly 350-375hp @ the flywheel and well over 850lbs of Tq. Our engines are calibrated for more power than what can be had on the economy. But we were told that 3126 and C7 can both be had at 325hp. Personally think they run great, and they have more than enough power to run a 60k lb Stryker thru the desert @55 mph.
I know that most these engines used by "Private" owners are operated on a run to failure program before they start worrying about it. Like you mentioned a better tune and a trained eye keeps any engine running longer, The 3126 is a good choice just from the package size just a bit to big but no one will notice to much, and yea the low end power is fabulous for a light truck. If I every have enough I will put a Power Glide and custom Low stall billet converter with dual Gear vendors behind the 3126 for some real fun cruising.
 

aofarrell2

Turbo Desirous
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Posts
209
Reaction score
1
Location
IA
The DT466 is a great engine.

So is the 3126, now know as a Cat C7 Acert IIRC.

The 3126 is a great motor, IF it is taken care of the way IT needs to be taken care of. I.e. it is a bit more picky than other engines. Almost all of the failures of the 3126 that I dug into were related to improper maintenance. The C7 has had quite a few updates, and is a VERY powerful motor. The downside of the CAT engines is there is almost NO aftermarket support for them, although CAT does make a high-output tune, something like 350HP and 1000TQ (yes it has that much torque). This is a newer tune available from CAT, so many people don't know about it.

If I was going to swap a CAT in I'd try for the C4.4 Acert. Same thing as the John Deere PowerTech 4.5L, the pre-PowerTech 4.5L (which itself is so similar to the PT) and Perkins 4.5L. It is a inline 4 cylinder turbo diesel, and is a reasonable weight.
 

tbirdfiend281

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2005
Posts
898
Reaction score
11
Location
Eldersburg/Sykesville, MD
Didnt the ACERT motors only add dpf and regen features to the motor, or was there more going on then that?

The higher output C7 powers come from dealer trim files and setting timing with CAT ET I believe. They have a 375hp c7 setup, the military uses this spec motor for the Styrkers and MATV's, there may be others also but those are the 2 I have wrenched on.
 

aofarrell2

Turbo Desirous
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Posts
209
Reaction score
1
Location
IA
Early ACERT motors didn't have DPF or regen.

Edit: ACERT, stands for Advanced Carbon Emissions Reduction Technology, or more simply, black smoke reduction.

Most diesel engines didn't get DPF until after 2009, as a general rule.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
91,198
Posts
1,128,136
Members
24,024
Latest member
Bugoo

Members online

Top