What is the best tempeture to run a 3208 engine?

[Chuck Wheeler]

One thing that can cause head gasket failure, and other problems, is bogging
the engine. Bogging will not necessarily cause high coolant temperature
readings. The 3208 has a short stroke and has to turn faster than most
diesels used over the road. Except under very light throttle it should not
be operated below 2000 rpm. The Allison should shift down about 2000 rpm
under heavy throttle. If you are operating in the 2000-2200 rpm range and
do not have throttle response it is probably a good idea to slow down and
downshift. Also remember that the gauge is indicating the average
temperature not the peaks.



Somewhere I read an interesting article on 3208s when I was trying to
understand how you could find them with various ratings from 175 to 400 hp.
Basically the "life" curve was inverse to the hp curve. The low hp version
had an expected life of 10,000-12,000 hours. The 400 version was 2500 to
3000 hours. The criteria was will a particular version outlast the
warranty in the application. Example would be a pleasure boat that might
see 100 to 300 hours a year would get a 300 hp version and a bobcat that
would be operated 1600 to 1800 hours a year would get a 175 hp version. I
will try to find the link to this. It was interesting reading.



Just my thoughts, but if I were Andy I would consider replacing the engine
if I liked the coach and was planning to keep it. It is a lot of money, but
so is selling his current BB for a few thousand and then buying another that
may present the same problems in the future. If he puts a good reman engine
in it he then knows what he has. The price does sound a little high. The
local cat dealer was estimating 14-15K if I had to replace mine.



- Chuck Wheeler -

FC 31SB Fort Worth TX

_____

From: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of davidkerryedwards
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2007 9:10 AM
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: What is the best tempeture to run a 3208
engine?



On my 82 Fc 3208 NA with an aftermarket turbo, the electric fan clutch kicks
in at about
195 degrees and immediately starts dropping the temperature. (I haven't
installed the
manual switch overrride yet but I will). When climbing grades in
temperatures above the
mid-90's the clutch almost always kicks in and reduces the temperature. If
the
temperature of the engine kept climbing, instead of dropping, I'd slow down
or pull over
and let it cool down for a while. This has never happened to me.
I also think it is quite premature to conclude that Andy's problems were
caused by high
coolant temperatures when climbing grades in hot weather. I don't think
anyone knows
why the head gasket failed. It's possible that the head gasket failed first,
causing higher
coolant temperatures. It seems extremely unlikely to me that running a 3208
at 200
degrees, which is the temperature that Andy reported, would by itself cause
headgasket
failure. Headgaskets do fail, and a google shows reports of people replacing
headgaskets
on 3208 I think there's an odd combination of events associated with Andy's
problems that should
be considered. He reported repeated problems with belts coming off earlier
this year,
then he had a fan clutch bearing failure,then he had a water pump failure,
replaced it, then
had the head gasket failure. Alll those items are associated with the
cooling system.
There's something odd going on. I'd want to try to figure out if these
problems are related
and perhaps have a common cause. He also said his coolant lines to the rest
of the coach
were disconnected. Is it possible that blocking those lines can cause
inadequate coolant
circulation or high pressure leading to the other problems?

Kerry
82 FC 35
Denver

--- In WanderlodgeForum@
yahoogroups.com, "Jon" wrote:
>
> Just completed reading about Andy's trouble up in Reno and was
> wondering at what temperature should these old 3208'S run at?
>
> And I have just drove down to California from Washington and the
> average temperature outside during the day coming down I-5 in Redding
> were over 100 degrees. Could this possibly have cause part of his
> problems with this heat situation?
>
> Also is there anything that you can use in your coolant to lubricate
> the water pump?
>
> Oh yes one more thing, would you think when you are in really hot
> weather it would be better to run your machine at night to wherever
> your going?
>
> Jon
> Rebel Bird
>





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