3406E build, got questions

Mr.T said:
So the next question is, will caterpillar build this 700+HP engine and warranty it? I'm thinking no.... but I could be wrong
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In my personal opinion wipe your butt with the cat warranty. Take the money you were going to spend having cat build it and spend it elsewhere. I have a friend that paid like $5k for his "extended warranty". Chances are the only issue he would ever have with the motor is a head gasket which is a $2k job. So he could pay out of pocket to replace 2 of them and still not spend what he did on the worthless warranty.
 
jfaulkner said:
That's what they claim but its routine to get used pistons in a gold kit. 3 will be shiny like a new nickel and 3 will be media blasted and the skirts will have scratches. New my a$$
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And that's why we were asking questions.

I agree with the warranty. It only covers the stuff that never fails on its own.

Here is the OPT enrollment work sheet if it will let me upload.

Monkey Fist Rage
 
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Our only options for qualified shops to do an inframe are dealers, I put an E-model together like five years ago but I've forgotten damn near everything about how to do it.....
 
Mr.T said:
Our only options for qualified shops to do an inframe are dealers, I put an E-model together like five years ago but I've forgotten damn near everything about how to do it.....
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Guy around here is loving his cat warranty. On his 5th blown HG because the block needed decked from the start but cat will only fix the hole where the gasket blew. Now they said they found a crack in his block and won't fix it unless he buys a block from them. Going to cost him $20k. This is why the warranty is crap.
 
jfaulkner said:
Guy around here is loving his cat warranty. On his 5th blown HG because the block needed decked from the start but cat will only fix the hole where the gasket blew. Now they said they found a crack in his block and won't fix it unless he buys a block from them. Going to cost him $20k. This is why the warranty is crap.
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I can tell you for certain this is not entirely correct. Cat will pay for the root cause of the problem IF YOU can prove it and justify it. Cat has no problem paying, but they need it to be shown why. basic parts warranty might of have paid for the gasket because of the hole. but if a Failure Analysis was done to show that the hole is from a deck that isn't true, then Cat would gladly fix the problem.
 
Nootch said:
I can tell you for certain this is not entirely correct. Cat will pay for the root cause of the problem IF YOU can prove it and justify it. Cat has no problem paying, but they need it to be shown why. basic parts warranty might of have paid for the gasket because of the hole. but if a Failure Analysis was done to show that the hole is from a deck that isn't true, then Cat would gladly fix the problem.
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Keep believing what they tell you. Just talked to a guy a few weeks ago that got tired of Cats BS and pulled his MXS out after blowing 4 gaskets. 3 were replaced by cat, each time the cyl that blew was pulled and the counter bore was cut. The 3rd time he paid out of pocket to have the last 3 cut because cat will only cut the one that is suspect. 4th time he pulled it himself and took it to Riverside Engine in Tiffin OH. Block was checked and was low in 4 spots. Again this all passed Cat specs. Check their book allowable specs on liner protrusion once just for a laugh. (.0015-.006). Warranty is a joke!


The first guy I mentioned on his 5th gasket has had all his work done by Ohio Cat in Troy and perrysburg. Idea is to just patch it up to make it out of warranty.
 
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So jfalkner, I know that caterpillar had a lot of marine applications but will the marine applications have as much of a performance gain in an older Cat as they do in the newer Cats. Say an older 3406, maybe a 4MG? What was a 435 hp's, marine counter part rated at?
 
RockinRam96 said:
So jfalkner, I know that caterpillar had a lot of marine applications but will the marine applications have as much of a performance gain in an older Cat as they do in the newer Cats. Say an older 3406, maybe a 4MG? What was a 435 hp's, marine counter part rated at?
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I know very little about the older ones. The 4TB is the marine B model and it's listed as 580hp max with only one cam choice and still has alum pistons.
 
jfaulkner said:
Keep believing what they tell you. Just talked to a guy a few weeks ago that got tired of Cats BS and pulled his MXS out after blowing 4 gaskets. 3 were replaced by cat, each time the cyl that blew was pulled and the counter bore was cut. The 3rd time he paid out of pocket to have the last 3 cut because cat will only cut the one that is suspect. 4th time he pulled it himself and took it to Riverside Engine in Tiffin OH. Block was checked and was low in 4 spots. Again this all passed Cat specs. Check their book allowable specs on liner protrusion once just for a laugh. (.0015-.006). Warranty is a joke!


The first guy I mentioned on his 5th gasket has had all his work done by Ohio Cat in Troy and perrysburg. Idea is to just patch it up to make it out of warranty.
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I happen to work for the worlds largest CAT dealer, and i have made CAT blush no less than 3 times and pay for major repairs because i proved the fault and reason behind it. Each time CAT paid the cost of the repair.
 
Nootch said:
I happen to work for the worlds largest CAT dealer, and i have made CAT blush no less than 3 times and pay for major repairs because i proved the fault and reason behind it. Each time CAT paid the cost of the repair.
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I'm not trying to be a dick but from most peoples experience dealing with Cat and warranty claims isn't so peachy. For every 3 that get approved there are 100 that get denied. Not to mention it costs around $1000 per week + mileage to rent a truck. And that's assuming you can rent one. If you have something specialized your SOL. All while your waiting for cat to decide if your claim is valid. The one I have here with the broken piston is going on 3 weeks. 2 visits from the cat rep, tons of pics all while this guys truck is down. This is why I personally don't give a chit about a warranty.
 
your specific industry is different than mine. But in the end it comes down to the tech's with tools in their hands. If one is a little keen and can do more than hang new parts, and knows how to write up and document properly, its really a painless process. This comes down to a dealer level too. The dealer needs to see the problem, side with the tech's assessment and do that deck job and have cat pay them back.


I don't know how it is on highway, but up where i am from. 30% the profit of every new machine sold is kept in a warranty account. So we as a dealer can go far enough to provide warranty when it might be suspect and deal with CAT later instead of standing around the shop holding out dicks in our hands.

As for the original discussion, you put in a bunch of custom spec'd parts, you probably won't get full warranty on something going wrong, but you won't be left high and dry either.
 
RockinRam96 said:
So jfalkner, I know that caterpillar had a lot of marine applications but will the marine applications have as much of a performance gain in an older Cat as they do in the newer Cats. Say an older 3406, maybe a 4MG? What was a 435 hp's, marine counter part rated at?
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Nozzles are about the only thing that you will find different in the marine mechanicals than in the truck engines.

What 435s are you talking about, did you mean 425.
 
jfaulkner said:
I'm not trying to be a dick but from most peoples experience dealing with Cat and warranty claims isn't so peachy. For every 3 that get approved there are 100 that get denied. Not to mention it costs around $1000 per week + mileage to rent a truck. And that's assuming you can rent one. If you have something specialized your SOL. All while your waiting for cat to decide if your claim is valid. The one I have here with the broken piston is going on 3 weeks. 2 visits from the cat rep, tons of pics all while this guys truck is down. This is why I personally don't give a chit about a warranty.
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This is very true but its not a dealer level. Cat is getting harder and to get warrantied covered to the dealer. While some dealer will net a warranty profit and stash it away for cases like this, other cat dealers have to bid on price alone. So in the end the warranty suffers. I try and tell people who penny pinch with Cat in the end it will only hurt you if you have to make a claim or have so uncommon problem that requires excessive troubling shooting. Cat will cap it at whatever they feel so it leaves the dollar amount between dealer and customer to absorb. Its not like it use to be.

Sent from my Toilet Explorer
 
CumminNotRunnin said:
This is very true but its not a dealer level. Cat is getting harder and to get warrantied covered to the dealer. While some dealer will net a warranty profit and stash it away for cases like this, other cat dealers have to bid on price alone. So in the end the warranty suffers. I try and tell people who penny pinch with Cat in the end it will only hurt you if you have to make a claim or have so uncommon problem that requires excessive troubling shooting. Cat will cap it at whatever they feel so it leaves the dollar amount between dealer and customer to absorb. Its not like it use to be.

Sent from my Toilet Explorer
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This is why I laugh when people say they went to cat for the overhaul for the warranty. They paid way more for labor and paid extra for a warranty that 90% of the time is worthless.

Acerts blow gaskets with good liner protrusion. Take your MXS to Cat and if they're .003 they throw it together because "its within spec". They barely hold at .006 with a perfect deck and NEW head. Been cutting the pistons to lower compression to help them live. Looking at cutting receiver grooves and doing away with the stock gasket fire ring. One running around here like that now, waiting on results.
 
This thread isn't giving me the warm fuzzy's about the c18 in our challenger tractor. Fricking love that engine and haven't touched a wrench to it. Hope it stays that way.
 
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