LeoKa
Guru
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2017
- Messages
- 1,280
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Ironsides
- Vessel Make
- 54' Bruce Roberts steel sailboat hull, coastal LRC, 220HP CAT 3306.
Recently we were having a similar problem and were scheduled to have the boat put on the yard for an approaching storm. On the yard we noticed that barnacles were covering 50% of the raw water intake. We have a diver clean the hull once every two months, apparently he overlooked the raw water intake. We cleaned it out and when boat was put back in the water the overheating problem was gone. Before you get deep into mechanical trouble shooting maybe have a diver go down and check out the raw water intake. Just a thought....
I have done a barnacle flush on the sea water circuit using Rydlyme, over the weekend.
The flush was successful.
Hi LeoKa
I have an old 3306/D333c.
In the photo you can see where the plywood is. If you zoom in you can see a nut at the bottom of the plywood, partially covered. That is the drain.
No worries, the head can be replaced. $$$ hope it's not needed. It's best to let engine idle to cool it off, as opposed to shutting it down at overheat temps, at least in this case.
If it overheats in neutral, it will overheat faster under load.
Often the need to flush the coolant side gets overlooked. Rydlyme also dissolves rust. It's a quick, easy operation to try before throwing
Thanks again for the suggestion. It worked. Although, the overheating problem was the pump, now the cooling is much better. It does not go higher than 150F at cruising speed. I could never go this low before.
I let the Rydlyme mix in the cooling system for a week and I replaced it yesterday. The test run was very satisfactory.
A week seems long. What does your thermostat look like after that treatment? Is it still functioning OK and what temperature is marked on it?
Hi LeoKa
I have an old 3306/D333c.
In the photo you can see where the plywood is. If you zoom in you can see a nut at the bottom of the plywood, partially covered. That is the drain.
LeoKa - I appear to have the same 3306 engine with the exact pump. You are correct, the pump that matches perfectly is 172-7777 but is expensive (~$1,600ish) from Caterpillar. I was able to find a good housing on ebay and bought the remaining parts to build my spare pump. I used quality bearings and Cat parts to rebuild the spare. Now painted white and sitting in my spare box if I need it 1,000 miles from home. Might be worth keeping an eye out for another one. There are also parts sourcing websites that you can put a request out for and you might luck out. I almost bought one from one of them, but fortunately asked for pictures and noticed that the casting was cracked where the snap ring holds the bearing into the casting. I was closely following your posting on boatdiesel.com as I had the same goal as you to have a spare.The latest:
The new water pump has arrived, but it does not look like the perfect match. Perhaps, some of you can advice me, if this pump can still be mounted on my CAT? See photos.
As of the overheating; the existing water pump is the possible problem. There are pins and a center bolt is missing, as you can see on the photo. The gear would connect to the assembly, but not securely. Since this is the same gear, where the sea water pump is connected to, I suspect that the damaged raw water pump has done further brake down on the water pump, as well. When the engine is at low rpm, the flow is enough to cool, but as soon the rpm goes up, the gear starts spinning and the impeller cannot push enough coolant around. This is our theory.
Of course, the only way to prove it, if I have a functioning water pump. I will talk to the vendor on Monday, but this pump was sold as being compatible with my engine. Hopefully, it will be sorted out and a replacement pump will be coming?
I can see many variations on the web. Maybe there is a way to plumb this to the bottom of the expansion tank, but I cannot tell, because the space is very tight and hard to see anything there.
If any of you had the same dilemma and had to deal with mounting the water pump, please share your solution.
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I bought the pump from the CAT dealer, but my 3306 is a converted industrial one and there is a unique setup for this pump on the engine. The standard pump will fit fine with a standard engine configuration, but not to this engine. The CAT dealer was searching everywhere and finally gave me a used part, which suppose to fit with the pump and my engine. I hope this is true, as I cannot test it, unless I take everything apart. Hopefully never.LeoKa - I appear to have the same 3306 engine with the exact pump. You are correct, the pump that matches perfectly is 172-7777 but is expensive (~$1,600ish) from Caterpillar.
Your ER looks wonderful! I wish I had access like this to the front of my engine. Unfortunately, it is positioned next the wall, which makes the access to this pump, pulleys, belts, alternator; very difficult. If I had good access like you, I would venture to remove the pump and test my spare to fit.The 3306 is an awesome engine and should last 30,000+ hours if not pushed too hard. I agree your water pump will likely last a long time. It is huge, tough and proved to be easy to rebuild as well (the rebuild parts are easy to get - bearings, impeller, shaft, seal etc...).
Craig
I think I have less than 2,000 hrs on mine. So it will certainly outlast me. I haven’t done any major maintenance except the exhaust bellows that is connected to the turbo. I now carry a spare. Mine was cracked and leaking exhaust in the engine room. The water pump parts I got mostly on eBay (genuine caterpillar packaging) and a couple items from the local cat dealer that were reasonable. The housing on eBay was expensive $500 (I think), everything else was probably $150 (shaft, bearings, impeller, seals). So $650 and I have a perfect match. I do admire how heavy caterpillar builds their old engines - easy to work on and heavy duty. My engine does not have a sea water pump or exchanger in the head tank - I am keel cooled, which helps keep the engine room saltwater free and looking nice. Appreciate your positive comments.Your ER looks wonderful! I wish I had access like this to the front of my engine. Unfortunately, it is positioned next the wall, which makes the access to this pump, pulleys, belts, alternator; very difficult. If I had good access like you, I would venture to remove the pump and test my spare to fit.
Have you purchased rebuilt kit to this pump, besides having a complete spare? If yes, from who?
How many hours you have on the engine? Do you have any recommendations on maintenance?
So far, I had the followings on my engine, besides the regular oil change and coolant change: Governor rebuilt by a CAT shop, (sleeve metered model, it was dripping fuel), valve adjustment, injector replacement, new sea water pump, new thermostat, rebuilt water pump, new belts, new alternator, new starter, turbo connection repair, new hyd pump and valve, new filters.