330hp Cat

[FordGuy100]

Well my parents are looking for a new coach after they have totalled the other one. They have found a really nice Beaver. Its a 1998 and for the life of me I cant find the model of the motor. All the adds say is that its a "330 Cat." I've tried looking it up a little bit, and I'm finding a lot of google hits for a Cat 3126. If it is, looks like it will be down on power. There last coach had a 325hp 8.3 Cummins, and with that it has about 100ft lbs more torque than the 330hp Cat 3126.

Any other guesses on engine model? Hopefully its mechanical, as we would like a little more power out of it. If its electronic I have a friend that works at a Cat shop and he said if we ever get a Cat engine, we can go to him and have it turned up for free, though maybe you cant turn up the 3126 more than 330hp?

I told them propane injection, as they would only have to find some place to splice into the propane tank (60 gallon or something), and then just run a propane injection kit on it.

 

[nevrenufhp]

Yep, that be the 3126. You will likely be stuck with 330hp, as they didnt go higher with on-road hp ratings than that. Your buddy at Cat can verify fo rsure, but it's real risky as is. They arent known for their durability.
A Cummins 8.3 is a good step up.

 

[69dieselfreak]

Yep, that be the 3126. You will likely be stuck with 330hp, as they didnt go higher with on-road hp ratings than that. Your buddy at Cat can verify fo rsure, but it's real risky as is. They arent known for their durability.
A Cummins 8.3 is a good step up.

+1

 

[ameristar1]

Leave the Cat alone. The little kitty is trouble. The Cummins 8.3 is much better, and it won't vex your mind like that, erm, mechanical travesty that is the 3126.

Remember, no Cat, no monster Kittybills $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Goofyexponent]

Those Cats were pretty gutless....they came in the GMC 8500 trucks....I've driven a couple of them. They were known for wearing out the main bearings. They are easy to work on however, I think it's because you are ALWAYS doing stuff to them. The new C7 Cat, which is the replacement for the 3116 and 3126 isn't much better. No power at all! I am not knocking Cat engines tho, I LOVE the big power the larger truck motors make, I even have the cat logo tattooed on my right arm. Huge fan, I don';t think I own a piece of clothing without a cat logo on it!
If you want power and reliability in an RV, get a 60 series Detroit or an ISM, ISX cummins or a bigger cat C13 or for BIG power, C15...they can be had in RV's.

 

[FordGuy100]

Those Cats were pretty gutless....they came in the GMC 8500 trucks....I've driven a couple of them. They were known for wearing out the main bearings. They are easy to work on however, I think it's because you are ALWAYS doing stuff to them. The new C7 Cat, which is the replacement for the 3116 and 3126 isn't much better. No power at all! I am not knocking Cat engines tho, I LOVE the big power the larger truck motors make, I even have the cat logo tattooed on my right arm. Huge fan, I don';t think I own a piece of clothing without a cat logo on it!
If you want power and reliability in an RV, get a 60 series Detroit or an ISM, ISX cummins or a bigger cat C13 or for BIG power, C15...they can be had in RV's.

Wish we could, but they are out of our price range. Limits it to either cummins 8.3 or the kitty cat's.

Thanks for the advice

 

[towcat]

don't make the mistake of buying a 3126 Cat.
If the deal is too sweet to pass up though, check with Pittsburgh Power to see if they may have any power adders to the system. I really doubt they do though.
Cummins ISC in the 8.3 is a more tolerable choice. Not a great one either, but more palatable.

 

[FordGuy100]

don't make the mistake of buying a 3126 Cat.
If the deal is too sweet to pass up though, check with Pittsburgh Power to see if they may have any power adders to the system. I really doubt they do though.
Cummins ISC in the 8.3 is a more tolerable choice. Not a great one either, but more palatable.

I will let them know. I know Cat has some good and bad ones, looks like the 3126 is one of the less desirable ones. And we all know how expensive kitty's are to work on (I told them that from the get go).

The 8.3 we had was real nice. Had tons of power everywhere in the rpm range. The down low torque was insane. I think the 325hp version was pushing 1000ft lbs of torque, way more than the 330hp 3126 (860ft lbs?).

 

[tonkadoctor]

High horse 3126 CATs are short lived.

Would I buy a 3126...... Yes, but only a 190 to 230 hp and mabey a 250 hp rating tops.

 

[FordGuy100]

Well they bought it. Oh well....at least it looks like a fairly easy thing to drop out of the back end in a shop.

The previous owner (original) has set up a water mist system. I guess they went through Arizona a lot and the 110* weather caused the thing to overheat some. Has a pump and misters that mist water on top of the engine while going down the road. Grandparents had to do that on their Prevost when they built the 8V92 (dyno'd a skosh over 475hp I believe), as they had overheating problems to.

Hopefully it will last ok. We still have the old coach sitting out back, maybe we can swap motors before insurance comes to take it away

 

[ameristar1]

Now there's a thought. Tell the folks to put the Evans Coolant in the system and a slightly cooler thermostat.

 

[Brimmstone]

We have a coach at the yard right now that the 3126 was having problems. I changed the oil in it as the HEUI system is very sensitive to oil breakdown and had a ICP sensor code. Boss wanted to be sure sensor would fix so he took it to Cat. $1038.45 later oil was changed again and sensor was replaced. Tell the folks to keep their friend at Cat close. I usually have one of those hit the yard every other month for a finicky HEUI system. Usually oil change with quality oil will fix it. Had a few that had deeper problems though. Good luck with it.