cat 3208

[houskou]

i have heard to stay away from 31 series cats. what is the consensus about a 3208 with turbo?

[M1031]

I posted before, the gov. surplus people LOVE them. I enjoy working on them. The 32 series is domestic, the 31 series is from Japan. Do a search for the 3208s and I'm sure you'll find a wealth of pro and con sides on this issue.

[bus-bro]

The turbo'd 3208 is a much better engine than the non-tubro'd 3208. They give you three piston rings, as opposed to two on the 3208NA. Not a whole lot more horsepower on a school bus engine (the NA's 210 hp to the Turbo'd 225 hp, I think). You could probably boost it up another hundred hp, boat engines do, but you'd wear it out a heck of a lot sooner. I really like Cummins stuff, and the Internationals seem to be built with a lot more metal.

All in all, the 3208 is a good boat anchor (and of course it is a parent bore as opposed to a sleeved engine). Figure a quarter of a million miles, max, on an engine before a rebuild (if really, really lucky).

Gotta to love a big V8, though.

[jump66]

I've never been a real fan of the 3208. Just seems like a "tin can motor". The marine engines get so much
more hp because the exhaust is water cooled.