Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv (Read 1319 times) previous topic - next topic

pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

does any one have any pictures of a 3208 cat in the back of a early 90 gv? im thinking about replaceing my 8.2 with one and would like to see what i would have to change
Mike
1990 GV 36'

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #1 –
Why?

Pierce & Gaylie
93' U300/36
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #2 –
i bout it with a bad motor in it and im looking for other way to repower it
Mike
1990 GV 36'

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #3 –
I bought my 1991 GV 280 with about 75,000 miles seven years ago.  We have since put over 55,000 miles on the Cat 3208T with only one problem.  The fan came apart and destroyed the radiator.  Luckily, we were near Gunnison, Colorado with a radiator shop.  Repair and replacement took five days.  The old fan appeared to be fiberglass and the new one is plastic.

The 3208T starts immediately ( I mean immediately) every single time.  It has plenty of power for me.  I have pulled a number of pretty hairy passes in the Rocky Mountains including the Million Dollar Highway between Durango and Silverton and between Silverton and Ouray (wow).  It takes some careful driving and judicious use of the brakes.  It does not have any kind of engine brake.  We always get at least 7.5 mpg and sometimes as much as 9.4 mpg.  It never uses oil between changes.

All that being said, after we bought this MH, I started checking the various forums and found that the 3208T is not the most popular diesel engine.  There are rebuild issues, however, at our current annual mileage, I will be about 120 years old by the time a rebuild is needed and may opt out.

I like my 3208T; but If I were buying today, I might consider a Foretravel with another engine.  I am sure you have your reasons and I wish you the best of luck.  If you do this change, think about the fan.

Alan and Bobbie Dodson 

 
Alan Dodson
1991 U280 GV 36'

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #4 –
Mike,

Detroits are pretty easy to rebuild and depending on what went wrong  (overheat?), you may be able to do it in place. Parts are also less expensive than the others. Even some old 71 series parts are interchangeable. A computer engine could add to change over difficulty. I put a 7.3 turbo Ford in a gas motorhome and was sure glad when the job was finished. MPG between a Cat and Detroit should be pretty close, depending on HP used. The Cat is a compact, lighter engine that does the job really well but don't expect it to produce as much power (torque) as a Detroit. The 6V-92TA is sleeping at 350HP.

Pierce & Gaylie
93' U300/36
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #5 –
Pierce,

He does not have the two stroke DD.  He has the 8.2 liter four stroke V8. VERY different from the two stroke series.

Hopefully, someone with a 3208 in a GV is near Mike-- Mike where do you live?

Brett
Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #6 –
The 3208 is a major improvement over the 8.2 Detroit Diesel and I am not a 3208 fan, as the 8.2 never won the hearts of the DD crowd.
There never has been a quicker starting engine than the 3208, hot or cold.

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #7 –
Quote from: wolfe10 –
Pierce,

He does not have the two stroke DD.  He has the 8.2 liter four stroke V8. VERY different from the two stroke series.

Hopefully, someone with a 3208 in a GV is near Mike-- Mike where do you live?

Brett

im in northen calif. and i cant find anyone local that has the tools to set the injectors on it
Mike
1990 GV 36'

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #8 –
Brett,

Sorry for the confusion on my part. Gaylie has once again baked some CROW cake for me.

Dave,

Saw red for a moment after reading your post about Detroits vs. Cats. Thought we were supposed to keep politics out of the forum.  :)

Pierce
93' U300/36 DETROIT
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #9 –
Pierce, this ain't political ;D, I have been told not to talk about politics here, so I do not cross that line as some folks get real huffy about it amd bent WAY out of shape, in fact show their dark side :))

I also feel bad about the 8.2 DD, it does not, never did live up to the DD normal service life.
I am certain some have had good luck with them but by far most have not.
And yes, I am not a fan of the Cat 3208 series.
Small point, this still is not politics, it is fact as seen my by 40+ years of playing with diesel engines, Heck I worked for Cat for a few years, best job I ever had as an hourly employee, my thoughts were and still are, Ill never own a Cat anything, as I do not dig in dirt.
Go kiss your 6V-92, I wont tell on you. ;)


Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #10 –
Dave:

Since I am stuck with a 3208T,  I would appreciate the benefit of your experience and knowledge.  I promise I won't be offended.  We have had good luck with ours for 55,000 miles (except for the fan); but I would like to know what kind of problems I may be in for.

Thanks,
Alan Dodson
Alan Dodson
1991 U280 GV 36'

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #11 –
My experience would indicate the 3208T is a good medium duty engine, and assuming you take care of it, change oil, filters, keep up with the antifreeze and do not over heat it, you should have a happy engine. As with all engines, poor care will bite you in the pocket.  Keep a good air filter on it too.  All turbo engines pull a lot of air through the filter. another biggie is the turbo, do not shut it down hot, meaning if you coast into a rest area it should be plenty cool and when you park it, should be able to turn it off, however, if you pull a mountain, and when you get on top, you best let the turbo cool down before stopping the engine.

Common sense goes a long way like any other engine.

The single biggest issue I am aware of with that engine is they suffer from cold water leaks more than normal I feel. The leaks seem to be between the front of the heads and the  manifold.

Enjoy

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #12 –
Dave,

Hey, I was just kidding.

Actually, this is my first experience with a DDEC. The mechanical variety was so easy to work on yourself and injector/pump assemblys were cheaper than a car and easier to replace once you had setting the timing down. The mechanical 92s in our fire trucks were great. I remember the construction cement trucks were all Cats and they all blew up but the county F.D. had later Cats that did not give much trouble. Nothing could possibly start faster than a mechanical Detroit. Touch the button for a quarter second and off we went.

Never listen to me too much, no one else does.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #13 –
Pierce, I  did get it when I found the smiley face, thank you.  I have grown to love the older mechanical 2 strokers.  I got my hands on a 12V-71TT (twin turbo) model, total rebuild including new crankshaft, etc etc and more etc... wound up at about 800 to 850 HP, way more than needed, as could spin the wheels on the MCI  easy, so had to run little air pressure in the tag axle air bags, just to get it to move quickly.  That is the setup the made Charlie Daniels buy a new coach, also had Fats Domino insist I pull over , he is also a bus fan, and had to see what the heck I had.  The give away was the 5' X 6' radiator across the back to cool it in the hills, also used the water spray on radiator.
It is nice now to just drive along with the 450 ISM Cummins, soon the be 500hp. :))  Getting too old to keep up with the big power, but do miss it, Why going to the 500 + HP.
Enuff and FWIW.

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #14 –
Quote from: mike –
Quote from: wolfe10 –
Pierce,

He does not have the two stroke DD.  He has the 8.2 liter four stroke V8. VERY different from the two stroke series.

Hopefully, someone with a 3208 in a GV is near Mike-- Mike where do you live?

Brett

im in northen calif. and i cant find anyone local that has the tools to set the injectors on it

Hey Mike, I am in Mendocino. A 3208T would be a good move in my opinion, I put about 150K miles on a wore out old 3208 natural in my Septic business 20 years ago and was very happy with it. If there's anything I can do to help, pm me

Rick
1980 FTX 38 RED

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #15 –
Quote from: rickricca –
Quote from: mike –
Quote from: wolfe10 –
Pierce,

He does not have the two stroke DD.  He has the 8.2 liter four stroke V8. VERY different from the two stroke series.

Hopefully, someone with a 3208 in a GV is near Mike-- Mike where do you live?

Brett

im in northen calif. and i cant find anyone local that has the tools to set the injectors on it

Hey Mike, I am in Mendocino. A 3208T would be a good move in my opinion, I put about 150K miles on a wore out old 3208 natural in my Septic business 20 years ago and was very happy with it. If there's anything I can do to help, pm me

Rick
Hi Rick, where in Mendo are you?

 I bought this motorhome from Ukiah auto dismantlers
Mike
1990 GV 36'

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #16 –
Little River
1980 FTX 38 RED

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #17 –
Alan Dodson wrote:
Quote
We have had good luck with ours for 55,000 miles (except for the fan);
It's too bad you had to find out about the fan the hard way.  Not long after I bought our '91(with a DD 6V92) in 2001 I had it in Nac for service and was talking about the cooling system and they recommended replacing the fan because the blades could break off off and damage the radiator.  The fan is actually a Foretravel spec'ed part so it's no fault of the 3208 Cat.
John Fitzgerald
1991 U300 (SAI) Side Aisle Island Bed 40'
Detroit 6V92 with Allison Retarder
Meridian (Boise), Idaho
 

Re: pictures of a 3208 cat in a early 90s gv

Reply #18 –
Dave M..I have a 3208 that has a cold water leak exactly as you described. After warming up it is as dry as powder. I wasn't aware that  it was common to the engine but am somewhat relieved to know mine isn't flawed beyond ordinary. Do you think it is a gasket issue? If they are prone to leak then one may leak after money has been spent to try and stop it. Knowing what you know what would you do if you had one?
Dub McBride 1996 270