1989 Grand Villa 300 HP 3208T Governor Torsion Spring

August 07, 2025, 10:10:23 pm

For any of you out there that have the Cat 3208 in your GV I came across a problem that could effect anyone out there with this engine.

My Cat had been running fine. I had taken it on a 300 mi. r/t recently and had no problems at all. It had been 3 weeks sitting so I decided to drive it for 45" or so. Once I got on the highway I realized it would not go past 2000 rpm. That kept it in 2nd gear at 30 mph. I pulled off the road, put it in neutral and revved the motor. Again, it would not go past 2000-2100 rpm. I limped home.

My first thought was clogged fuel filters. After changing both Primary and Secondary filters, there was no change. Next, I got my buddy to stand on the pedal while I checked linkage at the air throttle shaft going into the motor. It seemed to be hard-against. I read about the mechanical governor-maybe a spring had busted or it was sticking or the ON-Off fuel solenoid switch was sticking. Luckily I have a friend that runs a 7-rig OTR hauling business.

He discovered a torsion spring had broken located between the linkage plates that kept the governor shaft from having to much pressure being put on it. In other words it was the broken spring that kept the governor from going the additional 500 rpms. So even though it seemed hard against, it really wasn't.

The Cat number on the spring is 6I-1810. The replacement is made of stainless steel while the old one was just steel, so that tells you this spring had a history of breaking in the past and they upgraded it. It was fairly easy to replace. Cost just $7 bucks. The bolt holding the linkage plate is very close to the manifold and it looks like you have no room to back it out. But if you tilt the plate you can get it out. I highly suggest anyone with this motor check to see if you have an upgraded spring. If you don't, changing it out would be prudent.

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Re: 1989 Grand Villa 300 HP 3208T Governor Torsion Spring

Reply #1 – August 11, 2025, 06:55:24 pm

Nice diagnosis and fix, thanks for sharing the details

Re: 1989 Grand Villa 300 HP 3208T Governor Torsion Spring

Reply #2 – August 12, 2025, 06:24:16 pm

Yes. Thank you and great find.

Re: 1989 Grand Villa 300 HP 3208T Governor Torsion Spring

Reply #3 – August 30, 2025, 10:46:17 am

Is this it. ?

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