Caterpillar Diesel

'96 coach with a Cat 3176B engine, closing in on 100,000 miles and so far, knock on wood, the alternator has been the only issue. As far as servive goes, I find the comment regarding CAT/Cummin's mechanics interesting.... Ive taken my Cat to a Cummin's service center(Cummin's Cal Pacific in Ventura, Ca) without any issue whatsoever, matter of fact, the Cummin's guys were very comprehensive and competent in their knowledge of my particular engine.

jrp wrote:
If you gather your input from internet forums, you only hear the bad stories. The thousands of Folks who are happy with no problems don't feel the need to go post on a forum.
I have a 2005 C7 that's been flawless and very reliable. There were a few initial issues mainly caused by Freightliner the chassis builder, but were easily worked out.

Fer2005 wrote:
I guess most of the problems have been with the mid-2000 models, C7 and others. Most of the complaints have been with the fans seizing, fuel pumps going bad, blown head gaskets and other problems.

I haven't seen any problems on earlier models and very few people have posted as Dolan did, no problems.

Just wondering if it was a short period where the problems came from and then the problems were fixed. Thanks again.

That's pretty much the norm!

People will write and talk about "issues" way more than just coming out and posting, "man, we've got a 20xx series CAT and it's been working flawlessly for all the time we've owned it." I am not an expert on Diesels but, have been driving them for my entire career in Fire Department related use. We've had CATs, Cummins, Detroits, and even a few Internationals. While each has worked for us over the years, we chose as a base engine for the last 15+ years, the Detroit series 60.

But, in motor home use, if anyone who's been into any research of the diesels used in them for the last few years has found out that, both Cummins and CAT has had issues. Certain models of Cummins have had and, maybe still are for all I know, "Wrist Pin" issues. And, from what I've read and heard, the remedy for that is not pretty in the eyes of the present owners.

And as for CAT, yes the C-7 has had some issues. Namely the HEUI pump. Hydraulic Electronic Unit Injector pump. When it decides to go south for the winter, it takes the injectors with it. That, as an average, is pretty close to about a $6500.00-$7,000.00 repair. The predecessor is the 3126 Series CATs and, seem to have a tad bit better durability/longevity record for CAT than the C-7. But, that's not to say the C-7 is a bad engine. There's only a few hundred thousand of them still running flawlessly in not only motor homes but dump trucks, delivery trucks, some over the road trucks and more.

So, while CAT decided to pull out of the "On the road" diesel market a few years back, I'd not hesitate to own another CAT engine. We presently have an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330 CAT. I'm not too fond of the non-lube fan bearing but, it is what it is and, so far, it's doing just fine. About the only thing I like better about the Cummins than the CAT is, HP for HP, the Cummins has a higher torque rating.
Scott

Fer2005 wrote:
I'm looking to buy a DP and see a lot of negative press about the Cat diesels. I haven't seen much positive press and there may be a reason for that. Has anybody had a good experience with the Cat?

I've done the searches, may not be looking in the right spot. Any good opinions would be great. Thanks!

I'm not a big Cat guy, cause I cut teeth with Cummins in the trucking industry. The only negative press about Cat that I know of is the fact that they are getting out of building and servicing over the road engines. But then I remember when they started building over the road engines. Their engines were noted for major hill climbing torque when pulling heavy loads. But when they started building over the road engines, you had to go to a construction site to find a mechanic to get them worked on, cause there were no Cat mechanics to be found in heavy truck garages. Today there are all kinds of Cat mechanics out there. Would I buy a motorhome with a Cat??? No, but only cause I know my way around the Cummins diesels, and not Cat diesels. It is kind of like the Ford pickup Chevy pickup thing.

Running 71k on a 2004 c7. HEUI pump and injectors replaced under warranty at 42k. Apparently a bad batch of pumps on early C7 models. Been fine since. I studied the HEUI system after that, looks like oil and fuel cleanliness is critical. I change oil at 5k. People will argue the 19 quarts of oil isn't close to used up then, but with the HEUI pump pressurization to 4000 psi - thats got to wear the oil, and tolerances are tight to create those pressures. Do my best to maintain it myself after some disappointing services.

I have a CAT 3126 B in my Beaver DP. 34,000 miles and running strong. Keep up the maintenance and I have had "0" issues with it!

I have a CAT 3126E now and have had 3 Cummins engines as well. One current Cummins. I would not make the decision to buy an RV on whether it has a CAT or Cummins engine. They are both bullet proof if you do the maintenance religiously. You can get a dog in anything mechanical. I have also had a Mercedes diesel and was not fond of it but it was ok, not b great. Get the serial number of the CAT engine and call the CAT RV line, 1 877 777 3126, and ask them for any history they have on the engine. The techs on the hotline are super and very helpful.

CAT will give you a hat if you can show you've run a million miles on a CAT engine. At our mileage rate I plan on getting my hat for my 150th birthday! :)

In all seriousness, they are great engines if you maintain them, like any other sophisticated piece of equipment. Unfortunately, some RVers assume that "diesels run forever" and don't maintain them. That is a recipe for disaster.

bluwtr49 wrote:
Yeah, you might be right if the ones you're looking at have more than 500,000 miles....anything less than that you should be good to go.

Joking aside they are awfully good engines although I've heard some reports that the ACERT models had a few problems. I sure do like our 425 hp C-12.

We have four C7's at work, two failed, none with more than 160,000 miles! One failed catastrophically (threw a rod), one had to be in-framed due to having no compression. We also had another need an IP and all 6 injectors with ~150K, about a $4500 whack!

When I was researching which coach to purchase, I was told by professional sources that the engine (Cat or Cummins) should not be the deciding factor, since they were both good engines. I ended up with a Cat C7 and no issues yet.

I have 3126E/3000 allison and never ever had a problem. 60K. Did have to change coolant surge tank because of spider cracking. And that's it! I do have it serviced on schedule by Freightliner or Rush Trucks with oil and trans fluid analysis.