Looked at a cherry old girl today. 3208 NA in a heavy 40ft GV. About 95% OE.
Before I drive it. Has anyone driven this package? How slow is it? My Turbo runs swell but is not a drag racer.
Will it pull a 6000# race trailer over 60mph?
Had a 3208 NA in an 83 Wanderlodge, 210 hp 475 ft/lbs. Didn't tow, but at 30000 lbs, pretty slow. Don't know what year the GV is, but the Wanderlodge was geared for 55 mph speed limits. Up against the governor, would only do 66 mph.
The owner has all of the paperwork from new. It had the rear gear swapped for a taller set and claims 70 at WOT.
No turbo? My 88 was a 300hp w turbo it would !
I had one for 4 years and loved it. Not a rocket but all over the west and the mountain passes it performed fine. Took a little driving skill with brake management on grades but no problems. Only aggravating problem was leaky glass type fuel filter. Finally removed it and put on spin on type. It was totaled in a collision but buyer at salvage yard fixed it up and put it back on road. I have lost track of it.
Gary B
Just remember, no liners.
Parent bore engines have advantages. 5.9 Cummins is a parent bore. And you can always put dry liners in a parent bore engine. I cracked a cylinder wall in my stock car but pulled it down and a one liner went in after the cylinder was bored. Lots of fast laps after that without a problem.
Parent bores take more heat that a wet lined engine. Engines with dry liners also have advantages but you can't install the liners at home as the block has to be decked. Dry liners should not be bored even with replacement pistons. The liner wall is then too thin and does not stay round.
Pierce
Has anyone on here wore out the 3208 Cat? They have one of the least trouble some service from what I have found . Leaky a little, set the valves, fresh belts and maybe a water pump seem to be the points of interest .
The book calls for replacing rod bearings when the oi l pressure gets low or 4000hrs . I have 3808 hrs, plenty of oil pressure and burns a liitle oil before it warms up . No issues at all other then the leaky Racor fuel filter .( updated to spin on)
Has anyone shot liners into their Cummins, orDD ?
The bus in question has 220kmiles, run nicely, has extensive service records and sits on the Oshkosh chassis.
My concerns are; the like new 10 yr old Goodyear tires, The original fridge , inop front AC. And can it keep up with my Bus towing the trailers . I tow at 62 MPH with the 7K double trailer.
No. Only heard one start once. When I looked over an FTX.
But you can purchase oversized pistons. Did I mention that when I look something over I try to know what I can before I get there?
PK3208TA | Piston Kit | 3160 | 3204 | 3208 | Diesel Parts Direct (https://www.dieselpartsdirect.com/dspk3208ta)
If it has taller rear gears than original, I would question if it can handle 7000 lbs. very well. Weren't some of the earlier models rated below 10,000 lbs tow rating when new?
Link about a guy towing with a 3208 NA.
tow capacity - Wanderlodge Owners Group (https://www.wanderlodgeownersgroup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5033)
Should be a 250hp 3208 with a turbo. 643 Allison. Oshkosh limited the front brakes to only work past 60psi.
Lq4 valve is in the dash to do this. Can be bypassed with or without a operating valve.
With the brakes fully engaged a shuddering noise and vibes are present in reverse. Nature of the brake shoe basic design.
I had trucker customers bypass the Lq4 valve so the brakes fully worked.
If you drive the coach and after fairly hard braking the front rims will be cool and the rears very warm.
With the Lq4 valve bypassed all the wheels warm up.
The Lq4 valve was a truck tractor valve which disconnected the front brakes so steering could be maintained in icy conditions.
Or save your braking needs until you can get on the brakes hard which then works the fronts also.
Average customer did not notice this very much. But hard drivers in the mountains noticed this.
A few customers changed the brake "cans" on the back of the wheels to a larger volume so the brakes were applied harder.
Had one customer install a marine twin turbo top end to his 250 cat. Wow. What hills.
He had 95k miles on the conversion. Only got into the throttle in 4th gear.
No trans or engine problems.
I would install a manual valve in the dash to allow on and off of the front brakes.
Bigger cans? Bigger turbo?
I drove the twin turbo coach. The idea of gearing it down is one way of using the hp instead of more torque.
I would regear it. Add the marine top end. Manual the Lq4 valve and then see if I wanted bigger cans on the wheel brakes.
No turbo.
Slow. Very. Never seen a 86 cat ORED without a turbo. Engine replaced?
Don't think so.
It has an exhaust brake in the headpipe.
Looks very original. Papers from day one.
I had a GMC Brigadier with a non turbo 3208, geared to run a max speed of 55 and even when it was empty the poor thing still couldn't get out of its own way.
The difference between turbo and non-turbo is huge. With a turbo and the fuel turned up, it should fly. Nice to have an intercooler between the turbo and the engine. I had a 195 hp mechanical 7.3 turbo international/ford (no IC) and in a 29 foot SOB, it just flew. Monaco diesels were distant sights in the mirrors. I would look closely at what works and what is not a good ideal with this engine. Hey, it's over 10 liters!
Pierce
I had one for 8 years but it was a 3208T. I was not impressed with the turbo compared to the Cummins I have now. The only thing I didn't like was the drum brakes on all 4 wheels. Other than that it was bullet proof.
No idea even what this means. Mine did not have this and I never had a brake issue except new shoes on the rear. They wear out sooner.
I took a pic of the data plate and it is marked 12/ 1991.
Just looked at it today.