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Old 09-02-2017, 08:39 PM   #21
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It was emmisions that killed the 91 series detroit good as it was the epa buried it for good

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Old 09-02-2017, 09:03 PM   #22
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Ah, that's true. The EPA killed the 6.9 and 9.0 IH engines too. The 7.3 was a re-engineered version of the 6.9 which took over in 1988 (when emissions laws came into effect). I'm sure it affected other engine manufacturers, but I haven't researched those enough to know how.
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Old 09-02-2017, 11:20 PM   #23
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I can definitely say I'm not a fan of the 3208, but I do like this aspect of the internet and forums in general. The op worked the the hell out of the 3208 and never had a problem (or probably not serious ones). This is nice to hear and maybe I should re-evaluate my opionions on the 3208 next time I see one.
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Old 09-03-2017, 12:38 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by archangel.ahl View Post
I can definitely say I'm not a fan of the 3208, but I do like this aspect of the internet and forums in general. The op worked the the hell out of the 3208 and never had a problem (or probably not serious ones). This is nice to hear and maybe I should re-evaluate my opionions on the 3208 next time I see one.
I too am not a big fan of the 3208.

What the OP did with a 3208 is probably what kept it going so long and so well. The normal operation of a school bus with a 3208 was about the worst sort of service you could have asked it to do.

One of the cost cutting corners Cat used when they designed the engine was to design the pistons in an oval shape. They were designed that way so that as they warmed up they would round out. It actually was a pretty good idea and worked in applications where the engine was started in the morning and was run hard all day long.

But in school bus use the engine was started and would run 10-40 miles with multiple stops and then shut down. And then 4-6 hours later would repeat the same performance. Rarely would the engines get up to operating temps. It was a particular problem during the winter. As a consequence the pistons rarely every got warm enough to get fully round and tended to wear the cylinders into an oval shape. Even when the pistons did warm up there would be "gaps" where the oval of the cylinder didn't meet the piston. Which is why most of the most school buses with 3208's became known as mosquito foggers as they would smoke like crazy on start up, smoke on acceleration, and when they got really loosey goosey inside they would smoke when going downhill.

The later versions with the additional piston rings and turbo were better. But in school bus use the 3208 was not the best choice.
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Old 09-04-2017, 08:21 PM   #25
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I read, heard, or thought Cat has some sort of repair for the 3208 that addressed that piston issue. Seems like all the 3208 school buses got a remanfactured engine from Cat. I bought my bus in 2006 and it had a reman cat engine. She's purrfect. Does smoke and rumble on cold start up, after that she roars.

As the years go by I like my 3208 better and better. Simple V diesel engine that I can figure out.
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Old 09-04-2017, 08:57 PM   #26
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I had a series of CAT engines and they all had one thing in common: They would drink the rest of the iced tea and not make a new pitcher. They'd just put the empty pitcher back in the refrigerator!
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Old 09-04-2017, 09:31 PM   #27
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Just ran my 3208 today. STRONG runner. Plenty of torque and ran her for quite a while. One great engine. Had the 3406B in three of my semis. All I ever did was a valve job when they hit 850K miles. They all went over 1M miles. LOVE the Cats!!!!!
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Old 09-05-2017, 06:31 AM   #28
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I also worked on a lot of 3208s and seen them run lots of miles with only regular pm 750 on up
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Old 09-05-2017, 07:09 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mmoore6856 View Post
I also worked on a lot of 3208s and seen them run lots of miles with only regular pm 750 on up
I wouldn't have ANY of Cat's medium duty offerings, but the 3406 is a real LEGEND. A Pete with a 3406 is hard to beat.
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Old 09-27-2017, 11:05 AM   #30
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The wonderful thing about CAT engines is they were development with the mind set that they will be abused and ran hard . They are over engineered especially the older pre emission bs engines .

Not to mention CAT will continue to support them part wise as long as there is a market to sell parts into .

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Old 04-09-2018, 09:34 PM   #31
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Whats the oil capacity on a 3208 CAT 10.4 liter?
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Old 04-10-2018, 08:15 AM   #32
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Whats the oil capacity on a 3208 CAT 10.4 liter?
Per Absolutely Everything About Boats, "The 3208 is an eight-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine with a V-8 configuration. It has a 114.3-millimeter bore and a 127-millimeter stroke. Different variations of the engine weigh between 722 and 899 kilograms. The engine displaces 10.4 liters. It has a cooling system capacity of between 47.3 and 56 liters and a lube oil system capacity of between 12 and 15 liters."
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Old 04-10-2018, 11:32 AM   #33
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depends on the oil pan used. Start at 10 and add a quart until the dipstick reads in the middle of the normal range. This is done with a full oil filter.
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