1998 Cat 3116
 

Anyone have any history running this engin? What I might look for down the road? We're looking at buying a 24' Box Truck for deliveries and I need to know if this motor will hold up for a few yrs anyways? Thanks for the help. The enghine in question has 87,000 miles on it and seems to run well , no smoking, seems to have plenty of power and excelleration, no major leaks or seepage.

I don't have any experience with that particular engine, but have had very good success with CAT engines. With only 87,000 miles you should have a lot more miles of use left. You can always have a dyno and oil analysis performed if you have any doubts. With only that many miles there should not be much wrong, if anything. You can also check the maintenance records.

I drove a Chevrolet C7500 with the Cat 3116 and Allison AT545 combo when I worked for Pepsi. The engine was gutless as could be (190hp!?!?), thanks to the gearing it topped out at 66 mph and lost 2-3 mph at the slightest incline. It was down twice for extended periods while the CAT technicians tore down the engine. The first time it was an in frame rebuild because the rings were gone (the engine spat plumes of smoke out of the blowby tube) and the second time was for an oil seal that went south. The engine also left me stranded for 6 hours on the side of the road due to a fuel pump problem. The relay for the intake heater went out in the middle of winter, which made cold starts a smoky ordeal.