Cat oil change

[Robby]

Well the zinc and antifreeze change got completed this weekend .I found parts of an impeller in the heat exchanger when I pulled the endcap off looking for a broken zinc on our port 3126 Cat.The engine has never run anywhere near hot but before we leave for Bioloxi I plan on checking both engine impellers.This will be my first oil change on these engines and next on the list.I checked with the Cat folks here in Mobile and they are telling me that I should use only one oil.40 wt Cat pn 170-5261 because these engines have mechanical unit injection(what ever that is).Its pricy and each engine holds 6.6 gals.This is the first time also that I've seen the maint manual to say to install the filters dry shut the fuel off and spin the engine over for 30 secounds.I'm looking for a cheeper alternative for the Cat oil.They specify it as CF CF-4 CE4 and SJ.Any one know another oil that will meet these specs and what they mean?I think they quoted this oil at $21 per gallon.Are they blowing smoke or are you guys paying near that?I think I'll stay with the Cat Filters.

[SKYCHENEY]

Cat oil is Mobil. Any CJ4 (that's the new designation) will be fine. They all have to meet the same ASTM specs.

We run a bunch of Cat equipment and we have always used Mobil Delvac. No problems and most engines go 20,000hrs+ before overhaul.

[jim rosenthal]

Cat devised this oil for 3116 and 3126 engines because of ash problems with regular diesel oils. It IS made by Mobil, but they made this oil up for Cat and deleted some additives that were causing problems. I think they call it Cat SAEO or something like that? If memory serves, it is 30 weight oil.

The fact that their engines needed a special oil with deletes underscores the problems they had with all these engines. Yours are old, I assume- they haven't been made in a long time, fortunately. Look on the www.boatdiesel.com forum and post a question about this; you'll get some answers which are likely to be helpful. Given the amount of trouble these engines can cause you, I'd stick to Cat's oil unless you can get very clear information that another less expensive oil will not cause ash problems inside the engine. Good luck.

[Robby]

Cat devised this oil for 3116 and 3126 engines because of ash problems with regular diesel oils. It IS made by Mobil, but they made this oil up for Cat and deleted some additives that were causing problems. I think they call it Cat SAEO or something like that? If memory serves, it is 30 weight oil.

The fact that their engines needed a special oil with deletes underscores the problems they had with all these engines. Yours are old, I assume- they haven't been made in a long time, fortunately. Look on the www.boatdiesel.com forum and post a question about this; you'll get some answers which are likely to be helpful. Given the amount of trouble these engines can cause you, I'd stick to Cat's oil unless you can get very clear information that another less expensive oil will not cause ash problems inside the engine. Good luck.

Wellwe are not that cheensey.Just seems to be a large $ amount for a gallon of oil.

[captddis]

Cat makes a 30# oil for the 3126. They found that additives in the multi weight oil were fouling the aftercooler, so Cat designed a special oil without them.

[SKYCHENEY]

This may answer your questions. It's a cut-n-paste from the Sea Ray site. Looks like maybe the Cat oil is part synthetic which would explain the price.

Caterpillar specifies either SAEO 30 or 40 or a single viscosity or a single viscosity CF-4 commercial oil. SAEO is "special application engine oil" which is a synthetic developed by Caterpillar and is formulated to minimize oil deposits in the aftercoolers on 3116/3126 engines. SAEO is very expensive and is only available from Cat dealers near the water since the oil isn't recommended for applications other than 3116/3126 marine engines.

Select your viscosity based on this table:


Lubricant Viscosities for Ambient Temperatures
Ambient Temperature
Cat SAEO
Viscosity Grade
Minimum Maximum
SAE 30 0 °C (32 °F) 40 °C (104 °F)
SAE 40 5 °C (41 °F) 50 °C (122 °F)

Cat DEO SAE 30 /40 has limited application and can be hard to find. Most Cat owners use either Rotella T SAE 30 or 40 or DELO 400 SAE 30/40 because they are commonly available.

The key is to use a single viscosity SAE oil with a CF-4 API rating with no viscosity enhancers.

Its long, but you might find Caterpillar publication SEBU6251-12 interesting if you want to wade thru it.

[jim rosenthal]

I'm sure it IS expensive; it was only available from Cat Marine dealers since it was only used in those marine engines. I've got some sitting around, or had some; I don't know where you are, but you can have it for free for shipping it to you. When I get home tomorrow I will see how much I have. You are welcome to all of it. PM me with your location.

[Robby]

I'm sure it IS expensive; it was only available from Cat Marine dealers since it was only used in those marine engines. I've got some sitting around, or had some; I don't know where you are, but you can have it for free for shipping it to you. When I get home tomorrow I will see how much I have. You are welcome to all of it. PM me with your location.

1620 Erdman Av Mobile al 36618 2516102611 and we would appericate it and we will help with the freight.Very nice of you---

[Pascal]

Oil is getting expensive, any oil.

These days the best i can find down here on rotella 15w40 is $79 for a 5 gal pail or about $16 a gallon (went thru 45 gallons of it yesterday doing a change on the 3412Es in the boat I run) $21 a gallon for a dealer supplied specific oil isn't bad. Is that for gallons or pail? Pail should be cheaper

I always install the secondaries dry, it's to avoid contamination. Many engines have a priming hand pump that reduce the amount of cranking needed, check yours