I am new to this site. I just bought a 1990 caterpillar D3C dozer. The dealer overhauled the engine for me. He said he put new rings, rods, rod bearings, pistons and had the head redone while it was off. When he delivered it today to the house I noticed an oil spot on his trailer. He told me it was from the blow by hose and that it would do that until the rings set. Is this true or did I just get taken for a fool? Also it overheated on me after an hour of lite use. I'm guessing it's going to need a thermostat as well.
Did the dealer do all the work? The blow by vent shouldn't be dripping, especially if it all did was drive on the trailer and if it overheated after an hour I'd have that dealer back out there pronto. It can take a while a seat the rings but still shouldn't drip and certainly shouldn't overheat. Was the rad cleaned? You would think the dealer would have ran the engine and checked it all over before delivering it and possibly even broke it in for you. The best thing is to work a diesel after a rebuild but it sure looks like this dealer dropped the ball. Get them to make it right.
Yes, the dealer did the work. He said to run the "dog" out of it and it will quit blowing oil. Correct me if I'm wrong but, if the rings are timed correctly it shouldn't leak anyway. As far as the radiator goes I'll have to figure that one out in the morning. I'll start with cleaning the radiator then go from there.
New rings will need time to bed in, especially when you don't list in your OP that they did any block work to the engine. Does the invoice from the dealer describe in detail the work they did, and does it mention anything about checking the cooling system/radiator..? Because IMHO if it doesn't then the dealer needs a size 10 up his backside because who in their right mind would do that level of engine work and not check the cooling system while they were doing it..? When you say "the dealer" I'm guessing this was not a Cat dealer.....
A lot depends on whether it's got a 3204 or a Mitsubishi derived 3046 engine. In my experience in frame re-ringing a 3204 is rarely successful. You need a good machine-shop style hone on the bores and upgrade to 3 ring pistons to have a fighting chance. It's been maybe 5 years since I rebuilt one but I think IPD or perhaps Clevite supplied the pistons. A 3046 with high blowby is rarely a good thing.
Be interesting to learn how you get the pan of a d3 in frame.
I checked the oil again this morning because of the blowby issue I had yesterday. The oil is about 2 inches above the full mark. I don't know if that has anything to do with the blowby issue but I'm sure it can't help. I also cleaned out the radiator and let it idle for about an hour. It didn't get above 180. I haven't tried it under a load yet.
You should not idle an engine like that, you're only adding to the problem, put it to work.
Agree with that! Are you sure you are checking the oil level correctly? No experience with aD3C but many Cats have two levels on the stick. One "Safe Starting" and the other for "Running at Low Idle". Is this the first time you have checked the oil level? If it was correct one time and now is 2 inches high there is a big problem that needs to be fixed. I tried looking in SIS to see if there was a suggested way check the oil level but when I looked for D3C it comes up with around 18 different Prefixes so I hesitate to comment on the correct method without the full S/N.
If it's overfull on oil, give the dipstick the sniff test, may be getting diesel in the basement. I'd send it back, tell the dealer to get it straightened out.
I had IPD 3 ring pistons put in my 931B when I had the 3204 rebuilt. 16.5 hrs later I heard a knock and had no oil pressure. Luckily the neighbor knew a guy close with a D7 to pull me out. A couple gear teeth broke on the oil pump. Pulled the engine and trans back out and the shop repaired under warranty. After putting the engine back in it was using way too much oil. They said to put about 500 hrs on it and see if the oil consumption got better. I jokingly said if the engine has to come out again they can pull it. The oil consumption didn't improve. They said some engines the rings just don't want to seat. Funny thing is it had no smoke at all. They said if I can get it to them, they'd pull the engine. I knew a guy from a trucking outfit that said if I pay a little for his driver and fuel he could take it to the shop and back for $300. It was about 1 1/2hrs each way so I figured it was a great bargain. There are advantages paying a little more to have a reputable shop do your work. I also had the rad done when the engine was out. It wasn't cheap but since I had to pull the engine to get the oil pan off anyway, I decided to get the entire engine rebuilt. It spun a rod bearing due to a hole in the oil pan. The one thing they said concerning the 3204 is to NEVER LET IT IDLE for long periods. It's OK for a few minutes to let it warm up or a little longer in cold weather. They said the worst case scenario they've seen is the engine gets so gummed up and slobbering it won't rev up much above idle. They also said the newer Cat engines are a different animal and could idle all day with no ill effects. A diesel at idle is never going to reach operating temperature anyway. A diesel needs to work. Hopefully you didn't add to the problem with the idling.
I usually let my D3 for about 10 minutes before I start moving. Enough time to grease it, and fill it with fuel. To long ya think?
Prolonged idling can glaze the liner walls, when the engine is working the combustion pressure is increased in the cylinder forcing the rings against the liner wall. That is why on a new rebuild the dealer wants you to work it fairly hard seating the rings.
I've never seen a owners manual say 10 minutes unless it's subzero maybe. A minute of idleing when it's 50, 10 seconds if it's 70 or above. Also, working a newly rebuilt engine hard means varying the load. Like hard short pushes and backing up, not continuous hard pull.
Another factor in getting rings to seat is using non-detergent oil as a "break in oil". High detergent oil hinders seating the rings.
Are you guys saying to never let these dozers idle? I always warm my dozer up in the winter to let the fluids move. In the summer for a minute or 2 to let the oil move around.
If the machine gets run every day it should be OK to move pretty much as soon as the low oil pressure light goes out after being first started. A couple of minutes at idle before shutdown is a good practice.