I am about 48 hours away from buying a used (85-86) 3406B Cat engine, one that's out of an old Autocar and the guy that's selling it to me was going to use it for a different application in a soil aerating machine. Turned out he didn't use it because of different bell housing and other issues that wouldn't work for him, so he's listed it for sale. I came along and lo & behold, I needed one anyway. It's tough going by what somebody selling something is telling you. He claims it is a "detuned" 3406B, around 350 or so according to his Cat man that worked for Cat for years, off the serial number. The aluminum tag on the valve cover's long gone, but the casting is on the turbo side of the engine is as follows: 7FB 59727 Is there a site I can go to that I can punch that serial number in and see what that thing is, or do I have to call Cat in the morning and talk to them? I'd like to find out ASAP, before I have to commit to buying this thing and finding out it's a 310 or 350HP, and not able to get 400 or so out of it without spending crazy money on injectors, etc. Any suggestions?
That number would tell you how it was born but I'd be surprised if it's still set like that. As far as truck applications the highest Hp they built the jacket water aftercooled was 400. Unless its been severely neutered it wouldn't take much to make it run good. Find a guy that knows how to set a Cat pump right, nozzles and a turbo might be all it takes, if even that. I've owned several JWAC powered trucks and it's my favorite Cat in a truck. Being it came in a truck it's almost gotta be a 350 and if the A-car was very heavy spec at all I bet it's a 400. If it wasn't so darn far away I'd buy it! Maybe one of the guys with access to SIS will chime in.
I had an 86 Western Star with a wjac 400, it ran like an animal. But in 86, they went to Japanese mfg bearings and i was one of several thousand that had a catastrophic failure of #5 rod bearing disintegrating, causing lifestyle changes and financial crisis beyond comprehension back then, lol. I have a couple of options for Cat men around here that can wake that thing up.
hi ,according to sis. assuming not modified 313HP @2101rpm and 1118ft/lbs @1400rpm
I hope I'm not too late getting back here Mark250 (we are in different time zones for sure, lol...) that's good and bad news I guess. Good in the sense that it's lower rating may attribute to longevity up to now, bad in the sense that I may have to spend big bucks to make it a 400. Might not be worth it, might keep up the search for a 400 in this case...I'm going to call Cat this morning when they open and also pick their brain as well. Thank you for the comeback!
I remember dump trucks in the '80's coming through with 310 HP though; I drove a new 88 Western Star 10 wheeler that had a 310 Cat and an 8LL. Nowadays these kids order 600's just to haul around town with. But back then, 310-350 was common. I'm having serious doubts today about buying this engine now. I only have today to figure it out, gonna call Cat this morning and pick their brains too. I'd rather continue the search for a 400 WJAC than sink a ton of $$$ into this 310 if that's what it is now. It can get expensive in a hurry and not even end up what I want in the end. I already have 375 horse in my 3406A...sure don't wanna go backwards. That'd defeat the purpose.
I thought this thread looked familiar..... TTR lol.
Ha, you found my hiding place! I just explained what I'm gonna do at the "other place". I passed on that 3406B, as it's only 310HP and it can't be turned up to 400 without EVERYTHING from pistons to cam, pump, injectors and turbo changes. I recall that now that I had time to think back in the archives, in '88 a guy had a 310 3406B he wanted to jack up but it couldn't be done without major work. I'm keeping my A and gonna do some small mods to get it to wake up a little, then just learn to live with it for about another year. Then I'm gonna take the plunge and buy a 3406C crate motor and slide that in place of the white A model and be done with it.
How about a 3408? I just stumbled onto a bunch of KW's with them. 13 matched to be exact. 10+4, all 350-400k miles total with 50k or less on OH. Awaiting paperwork and additional info. I may try to buy the entire bakers dozen......
HEUI or not?
Not. All mechanical. Mid 80's vintage. The good stuff!
That's a shame. HEUI 3408s are getting in short supply for people trying to keep old D9Rs running.
Is there a viable option to swap in? I knew that's what they ran but didn't realize there's a shortage....
I think there's an upgrade to a c18 maybe, but because of the age of these machines people just want a cheap simple option to keep them running. The 3408 heui was never great and a lot have been scrapped.
Well, I passed on that 3406B due to the amount of work it'd take to make it a 400. That's not my plan to rebuild a B and invest all that when the real plan is to buy a crate C motor in another year or thereabouts. For now, I'm going to boost this 3406A with a turbo and a little more fuel to spin it and just deal with it. So now another question for those seasoned Cat men here on the subject of Vickers power steering pumps , moreso on what I need to drive it. This A model Cat has a 2 bolt plate on the front of the accessory drive that is the place where a power steering pump would usually mount. I have a nice, fairly new Vickers pump that I personally removed from a 3406B engine and kept it for future use. Now is that time. Research has told me that I need to find the gear that drives the pump, because this current engine doesn't have it. I removed the 2 bolt plate and looked in there and found a blank plate. There needs to be a splined plate in there to accept the pump drive splines. It's been 2 years since I had my eyes and hands on this same stuff, when I restored my other 1978 KW rollback truck. I replaced the air compressor, (It has existing power steering BTW.) The drive gear on the compressor is a cone-shaped one, and all I did was R&R it off the old and onto the new compressor...no messing with the pump drive at all. That said, I never got a visual on what/how the Vickers pump goes into that one to get driven from the front view. Recently I removed the drive gear (and that adapter plate that bolts to it) off of another 3406B and thought I struck gold, but according to the Cat dealer I deal with, that drive gear that attaches to the 3406B air compressor is not what I'm looking for; because the 3406A engine has an idler gear supposedly in the accessory drive train with the splines in it for the pump drive...? The part number on this gear I found is 7WO140 which is the gear on the air compressor, and the 4 bolt plate that bolts to the gear is part # 7W5516 , it's a flat plate with the female splines. According to the Cat parts man, that gear won't work off the B engine/compressor. He says the correct gear # I need is part #7N8955 which changes to #2W7680, and the plate/cover part number is #4N3853. I'm finding that hard to believe, unless the gears are cut different. The other thing about this project is, the B spins that gear in the opposite direction of the A engine due to that idler gear in the A , thus having to split the hydraulic pump and reversing the cartridge to throw the oil the opposite direction and it will work...? Hope I didn't get too confusing or detailed, I have a tendency to do that sometimes. Bottom line is, what do I need to make this Vicker power steering pump produce pressure on this 3406A engine? Do I indeed need to change the air compressor drive gear as I just mentioned, or do I NOT have to do that on this A engine, and just have to install the pump drive gear/plate with female splines to an existing idler gear in the accessory drive already? I removed the cover and there's a blank plate in there, no bolts, period. And if I have to do that...what's it entail...does the front accessory drive cover have to be totally removed to put the gear in place or am I missing something? I'll wait to hear from a veteran, vintage-minded Caterpillar man on this deal. Thanks in advance! Pics of the gear and plate I found off the 3406B attached...
9R repowers are C15 replacing 3408 HEUI...9L 3412 mech with C18. In Calif were @ Tier4 final, that includes exhaust after treatment BS. 57G can't hardly see the engine under all of the exhaust after treatment..
boy o boy please keep me in the loop about these KW's looking for a old heavy truck to haul heavy and local cheap god i have some miles on a v8 cat with 5x4
I'm waiting on them to tell me what the deal is. Hope to find out this week. If it's a fair price for condition I'll latch on to several if not all of them. It's killin me!
im sure it is!~~~~~
So the cummins mentioned above a few posts ago threw a godawful scrap iron fit today and damn near burnt the truck to the ground!!! In one pic you can see through a hole in the block, see a rod journal and daylight behind it!! Pushrods came out the block and a wrist pin snap ring was under the truck dangling from an air line!! Block is broke almost it two!! If the owner dumps the truck it's gonna get an 8v71.....
The real question is, where are the pictures of this 3rd A model?
Well crap posted that in the wrong place! Sorry to the author lol I was so excited to show off the carnage!
Well, they are some really good carnage pictures.
didnt hear a thing it just broke!!!!!!!!!