I have worked on 3516’s for 6 years now. I dropped one valve 5 years ago and never really found a reason why. We adjust them every 4000 hours like thebook says.

1. Caterpillar 3512 Spec Sheet

Caterpillar 3512 Spec Sheet

We also used caterpillar filters not aftermarket. Also 40 weight lube as the book says for our area of operations (ambient temps). Right off the bat I would look hard at the warm up. Cat Engines without prelubes have to be 135 degrees before a load is put on the engines.

Now understand d I’m only working with fairly new engines all less than 20000 hours. Another note I have not personally donethe adjustments. We call in Alban out of Baltimore and get the warranty of repair by Certified techs. First cats I ever worked with and I love them. They were not originally designed for marine ops so they didn’t hold up to vibration well. Over the last few years cat has redesigned and we upgraded the sensors and electronics with more rugged components.

That was the only headaches I’ve had with these things and they are pretty much all gone now. Biggest thing is get the book and follow the PMS rigorously.

Engines are very close tolerances with very little wriggle room. In over 210,000 hours of operation (divided between 12 engines), I have seen one injector failure on low sulfur diesel though it was a spectacular failure. The tip blew off the end of the injector which caused the cylinder to fill with fuel while the engine was shut down. During the next fire-up the cylinder went hydraulic and it fired the injector through the valve cover and across the engine room. There was no other damage to the engine. Blowing a tip off an injector is usually a water related problem and not a lubrication issue. So we really don’t have a lot of injector issues, then again we replace the injectors at 15k hours like the manufacturer says.

We also replace the heads and connecting rod bearings at 15,000 hours. We have never had a failure on Cat 3500.

Our engines are young, though. One pair have 45k hours on them. The rest are 15k and under. Cats are awesome engines for ship docking tugs which spend minimal time at full power and see around 3000 hours a year. Working deep sea where an engine may see 10k hours a year, I can see where the frequent maintenance on Cats could become a bit irritating and become a financial burden. But that is what medium speed engines are for, they cost twice as much for the same horsepower but require fewer overhauls.

QUOTE=power230;27800The problem is they say CAT on the engine. We have had nothing but problems with our CAT’s in all our new vessel. We have CAT 3608 C280 in my boat and I’m currently on my third engine on the port side.

You have read correct engine #3 on the port side. The first on failed with just 109 hrs on the clock during sea trials. The second one failed last week @ 6248 hrs slinging a rod out the block on cyclinder #2. Tore the wrist pin out from the piston, rod bolts broke, and one exhuast valve dropped. These engines are used in CPP system @ 1000 rom. L/O is change every 1000 hrs and filter are changed every 500 hrs.

We also clean the lube oil centrifuges every 250 hrs. Never ever had this problem with EMD engines. We have car Accert C32 for generators. Basically 3412 engine driving 900 KW generators. That is the biggest POS on the market. Get ready to change a thermostat housing or water pump every 500 hrs with you 500 hr L/O and filter service.

Why the hell would you ever put an aluminum housing on a engine? CAT still warranties the generators because it’s a nation wide problem with these engine eating up thermostat housings and water pumps. As far as the 3516/3512 engines. I’ve worked with old and new and haf nothing but problems with them. Main cause is dropping valves, to bad injectors during start up and blowing right out the valve cover, and spinning bearings. Personally the best cat engine I worked with is the old school 398/399 engines. These small engines they are getting all this horsepower just wont last.

Reminds me of the old 149TI DD, the put out alot of hp and never lasted long. Basically a throw away engine.

When it comes to raw torque your not going to beat a EMD, GE, or Alco. People can say the 3600 series is up there with those three, but I take it off the list for the reliability issues. That’s just my opion. For what it’s worth. I got in a nice talk with the CAT guy about these engines. And was told comparing CAT to these engine is basically apples to bannas. He said CAT is the best engine on the market.

When I asked about the reliability issues, he told me CAT like to push the engines, that’s why there’s problems. Makes alot of sense to me to have a high hp engine that can’t take you to far without breaking.

I attached some pictures of the recent failure with the 3608 C260./QUOTE IAM Writing 2 u to get more information on the c32. We fitted a new c32 this time last year. Thers 5000hrs up on the main engine which is keel cooled. Last month the thermostat housing failed,when the cover of the thermostat we wer able to see that the aluminuim housing was completely pitted & corrided away. As of yet we have had no water pump failures so far.

The warranty runs out in a months time. QUOTE=Too bad steam is gone;86700Maybe the after coolers are condensing water into the intake air and the valves are eroding from the water & sulfur (sulfuric acid). Many ships I’ve worked on had “rain” in the scavenge drain line windows. We closed in on the cooling water until the air was above the dew point. Install a small drain valve after the air cooler if you don’t have one and crack it to look for water. The more humid the air where you are the worse it is./QUOTE This is a very interesting point, I work for a company called Vestas aircoil and design and manufacture diesel engine charge air coolers.

We have had this issue in the past where the air supply is contaminated with sulphur. When the air cools down, condensation forms into sulphuric acid and eats away You will always have problems if the main air source is not fresh, this will be compressed by the turbo and passed through the charge air cooler.

High resolution, searchable, printable PDF format Covers: Caterpillar 3512 Industrial Engine with serial numbers:. 65Z887-Up (Engine) Pages: 1158 Format: PDF Compatibility: Windows/Mac/Tablet This Parts Manual contains detailed illustrations and official part numbers for your Caterpillar 3512 Industrial Engine, Diagrams are provided with the listings to aid the service technician in identifying clearly, the item to be ordered. Contents: PUMP GP-AUXILIARY.

366 PUMP GP-AUXILIARY FRESH WATER. 368 PUMP GP-AUXILIARY SEA WATER. 370 PUMP GP-WATER. 381 RADIATOR GP. 386 RADIATOR GP-FOLDED CORE. 398 REGULATOR GP-TEMPERATURE. 399 SEAL GP-WATER PUMP.

402 TANK GP-EXPANSION. 404 VALVE GP-RADIATOR DRAIN. 407 AIR INLET AND EXHAUST SYSTEM. 409 ADAPTER GP-AIR CLEANER. 409 ADAPTER-EXHAUST. 413 AFTERCOOLER GP-WATER. 414 AIR CLEANER GP.

418 CARTRIDGE GP-TURBOCHARGER. 426 ELBOW GP-EXHAUST. 428 ELBOW-EXHAUST. 431 FITTING GP-EXHAUST. 433 FLANGE GP-EXHAUST. 437 INDICATOR GP-AIR FILTER CHANGE.

441 LINES GP-AIR. 442 MANIFOLD GP-EXHAUST. 449 MANIFOLD GP-WATER COOLED EXH. 452 MOUNTING GP-AIR CLEANER. 453 MUFFLER. 455 PRECLEANER GP. 458 SHUTOFF GP-AIR.

460 TURBOCHARGER GP. 468 FUEL SYSTEM. 487 ACTUATOR GP-ELECTRONIC. 487 BOX AS-GOVERNOR PREREGULATOR. 488 CONTROL GP-FUEL INJECTION. 490 CONTROL GP-FUEL RATIO. 493 CONTROL GP-GOVERNOR.

494 CONVERSION GP-GOVERNOR. 497 COOLER GP-FUEL. 498 DRIVE GP-GOVERNOR. 502 DRIVE GP-TACHOMETER. 508 FASTENER GP-FUEL INJ PUMP. 510 FILTER GP-FUEL.

518 FILTER GP-PRIMARY FUEL. 525 GOVERNOR GP. 526 GOVERNOR GP-ELECTRIC. 534 GOVERNOR GP-WOODWARD. 535 INJECTOR GP-FUEL.

538 INSTALLATION GP-GOVERNOR. 542 LINES GP-DIVERTER VALVE. 544 LINES GP-FLEXIBLE FUEL.

560 LINES GP-FUEL. 561 LINES GP-FUEL INJECTION. 564 LINES GP-FUEL RATIO CONTROL. 571 MOUNTING GP-GOVERNOR CONTROL.

573 PUMP GP-FUEL INJECTION. 574 PUMP GP-FUEL PRIMING. 576 PUMP GP-FUEL TRANSFER. 582 PUMP GP-GEROTOR. 588 SHUTOFF GP-CONTROL. 594 SHUTOFF GP-HYDRAMECHANICAL.

610 SHUTOFF GP-MANUAL. 616 SHUTOFF GP-REMOTE. 619 TUBE. 621 VALVE GP-DIVERTER. 622 VALVE GP-FUEL SHUTOFF.

628 VALVE GP-PRESSURE CONTROL. 630 VALVE GP-SPEED SENSING. 632 ELECTRICAL AND STARTING SYSTEM. 634 ALTERNATOR GP-CHARGING. 634 BATTERY CHARGER.

638 BATTERY GP. 639 CIRCUIT BREAKER GP. 641 CONTACTOR GP. 643 CONTACTOR GP-ALARM. 648 CONTACTOR-OIL PRESSURE. 649 CONTACTOR-OIL TEMPERATURE. 651 CONTACTOR-TEMPERATURE.

652 CONTROL GP-AIR STARTING. 654 CONTROL GP-ETHER ELECTRONIC. 671 CONVERSION GP-WIRING. 672 DIODE AS. 674 DIODE GP. 675 ENCLOSURE GP-WIRING.

676 FASTENER GP-ENGINE WIRING. 682 FASTENER GP-JUNCTION BOX. 687 HARNESS AS-THERMOCOUPLE. 688 HARNESS GP-WIRING. 689 HEATER GP-JACKET WATER.

695 JUNCTION BOX GP. 698 LINES GP-AIR START. 714 LINES GP-SHUTOFF. 720 LUBRICATOR GP-AIR MOTOR. 725 MAGNETIC PICKUP GP. 730 MOUNTING GP-CONTACTOR.

732 MOUNTING GP-JACKET WTR HEATER. 734 MOUNTING GP-JUNCTION BOX. 754 SENSOR GP-SPEED. 756 SENSOR GP-TEMPERATURE.

757 SHUTOFF GP-CONTROL. 758 SHUTOFF GP-ELECTRICAL. 766 SILENCER GP-AIR STARTING.

780 SOLENOID AS-STARTING MOTOR. 782 SOLENOID GP-SHUTOFF. 784 STARTING AID GP-ETHER. 788 STARTING MOTOR GP-AIR. 790 And Much More.