Hi All, Looking at purchasing a 2013 Cat 289D. Machine has 3400 hours and was used by a small outfit in the Calgary AB area. Talking with the seller, he indicated that the machine is burning oil (approximately half a quart every 2-3 days). They had their mechanic look at it and ended up replacing the turbo which reduced consumption some, but not completely. If it's burning oil and not losing it through the turbo I believe the next options are either valve stem seals leaking, or the rings passing oil (at which point I'd rebuild the engine over the winter, not a big deal for me). To be fair, the owner was very open about any work the machine needed, including the oil consumption, so I'm not worried about being conned. I know virtually nothing about the C3.3B other than it being a rebadged Kubota V3307, so I thought I'd see if someone here has experience with that engine. Any feedback would be appreciated. The rest of the machine checks out, but I'd love to know if I should be accounting for a full rebuild, or some minor overhead work. Thanks in advance!
Until somebody who knows what they are talking about posts I’ll give you the run down of my 259d with same motor. ... Had 1900 hrs when I bought it under the impression it had a bad head gasket. Pulled the head and found two cylinders with heavy score marks. 1 long block later and it’s been a solid machine. These motors(from what I’ve read online) are susceptible to damage from overheating (mine had codes related to high temps) plan for the worst and you *might* be surprised with the lesser of required repairs... but I wouldn’t bet on it
Thanks for the reply. At this point I think it's a safe bet to assume it'll require a rebuild, which I certainly don't mind doing, but also want to ensure I'm paying an accorded price. I'm waiting to see what another machine goes for at auction on the 8th, then I'll consider making an offer.
Possibly relevant is the fact that machines of this type never seem to get the care and attention from a maintenance aspect that they really need, often being used by multiple operators on any given day. Did you happen to look at the air filter condition.? I wonder what that was like. Personally I think you will be extremely lucky if all the problems related to the high oil consumption are confined to the upper part of the engine.
Update on this. I negotiated the seller down a few k and bought the machine. Spent several days cleaning it out and the majority of the machine looks good. Minimal damage or wear, apart from the engine. Air filters were completely saturated, and it burns around 1q every few hours, so engine is definitely dusted. Never seen that much blowby from an engine, so it's coming out and apart in a few days. Planned for this so I'm not totally surprised.