Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I HATE CAT!!! with all due respects to IIFID

UH... Caterpilar engines that is. Just blew a head gasket on a very-low-hour (<1500 hours) engine on my boat. Cause was over-heating and have had nothing but problems with this, the port side main engine, from day one.<P>They have stopped making the style of heat exchanger that failed and want to sell me a new style one for between 6 and 8 grand for each of my two engines! These were 35 grand apiece, when installed!<P>CAT's customer service is horrible. Their warranty turns out to be a five and one after they get paid. That is one central raised digit, and five more waving good-bye.<P>Because of the tight engine room on my boat, it will likely run over 5,000 just to replace a head gasket.<P>I have written in the past to the president of CAT and several places up and down the line. They never even replied. I called them, they brushed me off.<P>I had made the mistake of believeing I was getting a top-quality product that would last a very long time. No longer feel anything like that.<P>Having trouble even finding a mechanic who wants to fix it, again because of the tight engine room.<P>Just needed to vent, thanks!<BR>art

Art, so how about telling us how you really feel? How has the fishing been? Wish I was there to share in your misery. [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>Have you looked into used parts? I had problems with my SeaRay and found a place called the boatdoctor.com on the internet and they had a great list of links for just about anything a guy could ask for when it comes to boats. If you have the part number, somebody there seems to know how to fix it or find one somewhere. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll search around for it for you.- Sheister

Fishing was incredible! Airline snafu left it at just my son and I for a week. We caught some great lingcod, I released one of the kind that scares you when they break the surface. I am certain he was all of 60#.<P>Only got a little bit of calm weather so we were "forced" into fishing a beautiful little gin-clear creek, full of red salmon and sea-run dollies. The dollies were thicker than I have seen anywhere, ever. The 7-yr-old son caught one that went 26"!<P>All of the fish were just out of salt and crawling with sea-lice. While not exactly what I had untended, we forced ourselves to have a good time fishing [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] <P>Will look into the place, but Kodiak is far enough off the beaten path, I am mostly forced into dealing with locals. Aside from the Cat dealer, I have been very happy with the mechanics I have used there.<P>I'm one of those who will gladly get muddy, bloody, beat up and battered, but hates to get greasy!<BR>Thanks<BR>art

Sitka Deer:<P>I don't know what your warranty was on your engines originally, but if you have had a series of documented problems with it, the first thought is does Alaska have a lemon law? Probably not and it might not apply anyway. But if the design of the heat exchanger is faulty, which seems likely by CAT's actions, ie. changing the design and having problems with the one you have, then I would consider hiring a blood sucker,ummm, I mean a snake, no, a lawyer, yeah that is the right word. Letters from attorneys sometimes get more attention than customer complaints, particularly when they use the phrase "class action". BTW, Texas has a big fishing, rec boat industry and is, unfortunately, one of the places of choice to file class action law suits. Think about it, or find a midget mechanic to fit into that engine space. Ah, the joys of boat ownership.

I'm the warranty guy for the manufacturer I work for.Write a letter a day to the top guy you can find at CAT.Fax the letters in.<P>Remember,you are selling so make the letters nice!You are trying to sell them on the idea that you should get some relief.<P>If it becomes necessary to hire a lawyer to try to get them to reimburse you after you have spent your money to fix it,reasonable letters asking them to do the right thing make a stronger case than threatining ones.<P>It's cheaper for them to furnish parts than to pay you the marked-up price in a reimbursment deal.Someone at CAT has the authority to give you something to "make you feel better".Once a lawyer is involved,that guy cant do anything for you.Repeat letters to the top guy have a way of reaching the right guy,and they come from the direction that gets attention!

Usually CAT has the best warrantees and I have always liked their service. You can replace a head gasket cheaper than that. You can do it yourself for way cheap. There really isnt that much to it. I didnt know they made boat power but it stands to reason. Hope it al works out well for you. bcat

Hey Art, run it down to Port Angeles, lots of Cat mechanics here. Are these 3208's? Speaking of tight quarters, I have a retired friend, diesel mechanic, with lots of experience on diesels in boom boats. You aint't seen tight until you stick your head in a boom boat engine room!!! You certainly can get a head gasket replaced for much less than $5000 here.

Art, -- if they first off ask you if it has power steering and air conditioning, forget it, they are from Texas. [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img] Of Course they all need to know how much clutter they have to take off to get to the problem,(head).I mechaniced for Greyhound Lines Inc.(bus), for ten years and the engine compartment is pretty small. Do you have a bus station in town? If so I'm sure one of the ((("REAL"))) mechanics would moonlight for a very reasonable price, just for a head gasket. If it overheated you may have more problems,<BR>(warped head), what caused it to overheat in the first place, bad pump or what? -- no

Thanks to all, for all the good advice.<P>The basic problem is that the heat exchanger has a design flaw which causes the coolant to leak to the raw water side, exiting with the exhaust. Has been a problem since the engine had 600 hours on it. Repeated attempts to correct it have failed. CAT no longer makes the exchanger, because they fail constantly.<P>I thought I had the leakage down to a tolerable limit, but I still had very minor over-heating incidents a couple times.<P>I lost a hose the other day and had another minor incident, but this time it took out the gasket, likely the head and exhaust manifold as well.<P>Being marine applications, all of the parts are MUCH higher in price. Midget mechanics are in mighty short supply, but in this case I actually need Merlin more, as there is no clearance between the top of the injector cover and the deck. The two options are not pretty... pull the engine or cut a hole in the deck.<P>The engines are 3116, in-line 6, most Bluebird buses use this engine, but this is the marine version also. Unfortunately, Kodiak is not road connected and there are no buses, nor bus mechanics hanging out looking to moonlight.<P>Alaska has an automobile lemon law, but I have been told it would not work for a boat engine.<P>Will try Gene's suggestion of a fax a day to CAT and see where that runs.<BR>thanks again<BR>art

Sitka Deer; I can throw 3208's together in my sleep, but have never worked on the ones in your boat. Besides, at 6'4" and (the better part of) 300 lbs., I'd have to flip your boat over and shake that motor out to work on it! I do have several friends here in "anchortown" that work at cat, and while I'm not promising anything, I might be able to get you a break. Feel free to e-mail me if you want. Good luck

ALASKANASSASAN<BR>Will send an e-mail in a second, missed your answer earlier. Thanks for the offer!<BR>art

Sitka Deer,<P>Truly sorry to hear about you engine problem! I hope it hasn't (won't) cause you to lose too many charters this season!<P>Funny thing, how I blew my starboard motor this summer too. Oh wait! My starboard engine is my main engine! [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img] My port engine is just a 9.9 Yamaha kicker! [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] Oh well, that little kicker got me 15 miles back home. At a whopping 3 knots!<P>Wish I was still stationed in Kodiak, as I'm not afraid of getting a little grease on my hands. <P>Hope you find a good mechanic, at a good price, who isn't too busy! Wish I could help more! [img]images/icons/frown.gif" border="0[/img]

Art, I used to work with a little South American guy, that has worked on every type of diesel engine known to man. From container ships to Freightliner trucks (grin). Have you ever thought of bringing a mechanic up, and in exchange for work treating him to a free hunt or fishing trip.<P>As far as making a complaint to Catapilar. I've found the best course is just to make a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. Usually gets some results.<P>Phil

Greyghost<BR>That is a great idea, just need to find a mechanic with time and experience. I am always up for a trade.<P>I have a mechanic, Ben Evridge, that I have used in Kodiak and he will get to it, in time, but he has a big backlog and a hernia. I have been very happy with his work in the past.<BR>art

Art: There's allot of people out there that would give their eye-teeth (don't know exactly what that means) for a working vacation. The welder we had at the last company I worked for, had to back out of a Alaskan fishing trip because it was getting too expensive, and he was in the process of buying a new home. He had been planing the trip for a few years. But the deal he was able to get on the house, was one he couldn't turn down. So needless to say the fishing trip got put on indefinite hold.<P>Phil

Greyghost<BR>A friend in Kodiak traded a wiring job on his new house for a deer hunting trip for the electricians. Worked out great for everybody.<P>Making the connection is the tough part though.<P>Brian<BR>Thanks for the thoughts, I too wish you were still in Kodiak [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] <P>Getting well enough to rejoin the rat race and will get on a letter to CAT today.<BR>art

Sitka deer: Worked in a place today, and thought of you and Brian imeadiately. This place makes emergancy gen-sets, for overseas use, and the military. You know the ones that are completely self contained, built in 40' sea-containers and mounted on mobile chasis. This place had Brand Spankin New diesel engines flowing out the doors. Some were the new 2,180 h.p. V-16 Cummings w/4 turbos. Others were the V-12 DDC-MTU's, and some kind of new low profile V-12 Cummings. But the ones I thought Brian would like to see, was the Inline 6 Volvo-Penta's 6.7 litre, 227 h.p. TWD-731-VE's these were both super and turbo charged.<P>By the way, whats the latest on your retro-fit. Did you get that boat workin again, and paying the bills.<P>Phil

Grayghost<BR>Took Gene's advice and started writing letters, but in the process of trying to get a good place to send the letters the local Cat dealer suddenly decided they wanted to help and keep their names away from the home office. Still waiting for the actual repair.<P>My big concern is deer season. Fishing charters are a lot of work with very marginal returns. <P>I think that V16 Cummins would put my nose way up in the air... been told it was far enough up as it is [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>thanks for thinking of us<BR>art