Stamey

I'm looking at a 1980 GMC Brigadere dump truck, short wheel base and supposedly 150K on the 3208 that's in it. The truck has a 26K GVW, kind of light duty. It is supposedly rated at 250 or 265 hp, according to the guy who's selling it.
I know almost nothing about a Cat engine except they are supposed to be as good as a Cummins. Then again, this is a V-8, not a straight 6 and I have heard a few stories about a 3208.

So, what kind do life should I see out of this engine?

What should I watch out for before I buy?

What should I watch for after I buy?

Thanks,
Chris

pind

3208 has a habit of leaking through the cooling o-rings on the connectors, between the pump and the heads. Also, they run cold. if you run in colder weather, pack a snowsuit, and a heater with you.

They haven't got quite enough power to pull the scum off of warm rice pudding, but they try. They are unfortunately reasonably reliable, which means if you want to wait for them to die, to replace them with something worthwhile... don't hold your breath.

They have a tendency to eat fuel like it is going out of style, they slobber and drool a bit when not run hard, they also seem to do it when they are run hard... go figure.

Bottom line, if you want a reliable, heavily built, overweight, fuel slurping, underpowered engine, get a 3208 right away, you won't be disappointed.

Otherwise, hold out for something newer at a reasonable price, with a straight 6 and a decent tranny. Just for reference, a buddy of mine recently picked up an 86 western star tandem dump truck, with a 3406 400hp, 13spd, in california, for the princely sum of 7100 bucks. truck had 263,000 actual miles on it when he bought it at auction.

Food for thought

Boatnik

In the marine industry I have heard them refered to as "boat anchors".

RAMRODD

2 words Gutless Pig

rlyons

Yep pig is right, I had one in a wrecker and it didn't have power to pull a sick mule. Runs forever but gutless and a fuel hog. Don't bother with it as it is too old to mess with.

BCB

yeah x2 to everything that has already been said, same injection system as the older PSD. it would be a cool motor for a pick up but in a big truck i would keep looking.

our diesel teacher at school used to work for cat and was put through school by cat back when the 3208 was a brand new motor, he says expect to rebuild them every 85,000 and the only reason people ever ran them was because they are so much lighter then the 3406 which means more payload.

96_12V

Truley an engine Cat would prefer to forget. Not as unrelaible as the old V-8 John Deeres (from early'80's 4wd tractors, remember those?) but really gutless overall. Were any of them equipped with a turbo?

You probably could find a good IH dump truck with a mechanical DT-466 which would be miles and miles ahead (literally) of that old 3208 down the same road. Proabably not too much more expensive, either. Good luck.

cumminsdriver635

My boss has a 1985 GMC Brigadier single axle dump with an L10 cummins in it. I drive it all the time and I would highly reccomend one. That sucker is mean. Has a 5 inch straight exhaust, and besides the fact that is sounds awesome, it is really stout It definately is not at a lack of power. I think it is rated about 300hp. But personally i would look for one with the L10 in it if you are gonna buy one. I never liked a V-8 diesel in a pickup, and it is only that much worse in a dump truck that turns low RPM's, and has a load on it all the time

Eric

Stamey

Thanks for the info, fellows. I think I'll pass on this one and wait for something with a better engine, even an International.

Thanks,
Chris

RAMRODD

[quote=96_12V;1746243]Truley an engine Cat would prefer to forget. Not as unrelaible as the old V-8 John Deeres (from early'80's 4wd tractors, remember those?) but really gutless overall. Were any of them equipped with a turbo?

I drove one with a turbo once. It did have a lot more power. I don't know how the turbo ended up on the motor. You would think if it was a factory option they all would have.

JD730

You too.
I have a turbo off one at home in the shop.
We have a NA 3208 in an '82 international at home, we bought a knuckle boom that happened to be attached to an international truck with a 3208 in it. It starts, runs and smokes, seems like a normal one to me.
Another engine that had no business in a truck IMO is the 8.2L destroyiot. Fuel pincher they were called. I've seen them both NA and turbo'd.
It'll get you there, but not fast.

74dart

We had two at the fire dept one in an 82 top kick 300 hp no turbo. It was real slow. The other in a 89 Ford Cabover 350 hp factory turbo. Not to bad in that truck but it only carries 750 gal of water. The new one with a 450 hp c series cummins carries 1250 gal of water and will run circiles around the old cat.

RAMRODD

That 8.2L was a engine you can't lug. Their is a potato farm nearby and I swear every other year that engine gets rebuilt It is the turbo version to. The rest of the trucks have inline cats and cummins and they never have any trouble.

afoulk

I think the 8.2L had a habit of puking headgaskets too didn't they? I've never heard much good said about a L10 cummins either. That wasn't one of Cummins' better engines. I don't think you could go wrong with a International with a 466, thats a pretty reliable engine.

PoorMansCat

As others have said.... its not one of Cats better engines... its old technology, overweight, underpowered, you wouldn't BELIEVE where the fuel transfer pump is located!!!!...
As for turbos, there are thousands of them out there with turbos, still running...
If it were me, I would steer clear of the 3208 and the A model 3100's.... JMO.