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should i buy 3208

dougout3

New member
i am looking at a 1982 trawler with cat 3208s with 210hp with 1800 hours. can anyone help me with expectations about how many hours to expect before normal rebuild?
are these engines good for this type vessel, even though they are older?
 
if they're original at 1800 hours, you're probably looking at rebuilding both.
they're "ok" engines. They love to smoke white with unburnt fuel and make your eyeballs burn when cold.
not one of my favourite motors
 
most of the marine 3208's around here are turbo or T/A arrangements.
my biggest concern is the "sleeve-metering" fuel system. water in the fuel can cause the rack to stick wide open = run away engine.
 
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At 210 hp those motors should run for thousands of hours. The 3208 is a excellent motor. Find a good local Cat guy raised on these motors and talk to him. I found lots of negative online feedback on 3208s but mostly from guys who haven't owned them and don't know diesels.

Look enough on the net and you'll find your about to die from a paper cut!
 
I agree - at 210hp those engines should run for a long time. Issue is though that they are 30 year old engines and age can kill as well as high hours. 1800hrs wouldn't bother me at all if they were 10 years old, but 30 years old means that you really do need a very thorough inspection done.
 
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