1999 31 TE/28 flushdeck

[rkod]

I am looking at a 1999 31TE with twin Cats 350hp model 3116.

Engine
Anyone familiar with these engines? Any problems/issues?
What type of cruise/max speed should I expect from these Cats?
What type of fuel consumption should I expect?
Any issues in general (hull or motor) I should know about for this year?

Also looking at the 28 flushdeck concerned about out growing the boat and wanting more after a couple of years. Has anyone else experienced this and have suggestions on what to do if they had to do it all over again. 28 vs 31? ???

[irishwake]

There have been some issues with the 3116 CATS! I suggest you do some further research.

[RicM]

How many in your family? What ages? Planning to cruise, fish or both? Off shore?
If fuel consumption is an issue, you will probably be happier with the 28. Two 350 HP motors of any type are going to suck up a lot of fuel compared to a single 315. It is well worth the short money to join http://www.boatdiesel.com and be able to search their archives on the Cat 3116's.
Here's an example of the exchanges you will find:

Originator: Intesity [email] Level 1 Member Date: August 26, 2008 - 08:18 PM
Hi I've been doing some research on these engines, and it seems the most common problem they have is the problem with the injector seal and valve failure
lets say I take my cylinder heads of and take them to cat, will they fix this seal problem for me, and the about the valves is it that they break or is it the retainers???
I want to do these upgrades before something happens.........

Thanks Kenny


Response #1 from: Dave [email] Level 3 Member Date: August 29, 2008 - 01:05 AM
It will be more cost effective to buy a reman cylinder head, which will have new valves and new injector sleeves. Older engines also need new injectors as the injector cone was changed for better sealing. Injectors then need to be installed using the seating tool and make sure the tip seal is NOT installed on the injector.

Response #2 from: Intesity [email] Level 1 Member Date: August 31, 2008 - 07:57 PM
Hey Dave, thanks for the response,, I guess I can source these heads at any cat dealership???


Response #3 from: Dave [email] Level 3 Member Date: September 01, 2008 - 12:03 AM
They can be ordered from any Cat dealership. What part of the world are you located?

Response #4 from: Intesity [email] Level 1 Member Date: September 02, 2008 - 09:05 PM
Hmmm, I'm in the Caribean, Aruba, I don't think we have a cat dealer here, maybe in Curacao.
But we get Cargo from Miami every week so this should not be a problem......

Thanks Kenny


Response #5 from: Randy Bieber [email] Level 1 Member Date: November 05, 2008 - 11:23 AM
Approximately how much are reman cylinder heads for the 3116?


Response #6 from: Dave [email] Level 3 Member Date: November 05, 2008 - 10:13 PM
Around $950 with a good core.

Response #7 from: Robert Mitchell [email] Level 1 Member Date: November 07, 2008 - 01:04 AM
Dave, I understand the re-man heads come with injector sleeves, not injectors. How would I know if I had the old type injectors? And what would be the additional cost if I had to put in all new injectors. My engines were built in 1996. I am approaching 2700 hours with no problems, no smoking and minimal oil usage between changes ( i/2 qt in 200 hours). I think I need to start thinking about changing out the heads in order to extend engine life.


Response #8 from: Dave [email] Level 3 Member Date: November 07, 2008 - 11:53 PM
Newest style injector cone has a sharper sealing surface and leaves a narrow line impression in the injector seat.

No need to change the cylinder head to extend engine life unless you are having a problem. Save your money.

[Tuxedo]

There have been some issues with the 3116 CATS! I suggest you do some further research.

What he said.

[rkod]

Thanks guys. Definitely need to educate myself on those engines some more. Are these problems on the Cats right out of the box or after uses and how much uses? Is there an ideal engine for the 31TE in the years between the year 1996-2001? Cummins, Yanmar, Cats,etc or do they all have problems. What should I be gravitating towards more??? I will check out the website thanks.

RicM to answer your questions:

I fish and cruise but I would be using the boat more for fishing. Offshore is definitely in the future and one of the reasons for looking at the Albins is the stable platform it provides. I am concerned with the fuel economy on the flip side I think about redundancy when I'm 80 miles offshore. So like with everything else there is a trade off. I've read the Albin 28TE w/ 315 burns 6 to 8 gph at cruise of 18 knots. What would a similiar cruise speed burn with the twins? What is the rpm at cruise I probably could look up the fuel consumption based off the rpm at cruise via Cat website.

The other trade off is the size do I look short term or long term? If you look at the asking cost of some of the 28Flushdecks vs older 31TE they are somewhat comparable. So I guess my logic is why take the financial hit on the middle boat if you can go right to the bigger boat and be comfortable for a lifetime perhaps??

Any other insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!!

[RicM]

I think that's why boatdiesel.com would be helpful because you could research a lot of people's experience with the Cat 3116 in different boats. The other thing to remember is that there's a lot of boats out there for sale and the prices are not going up. Perhaps what you want is a single engine 31 TE? The twin engine reliability factor is overplayed by owners justifying their fuel burn rates. The most common problem with diesel failure is fuel related (there is no ignition system). If you have bad fuel it's going to kill both engines. Pay the $150 for unlimited towing and don't feed engine #2.

[Pitou]

Perhaps what you want is a single engine 31 TE? The twin engine reliability factor is overplayed by owners justifying their fuel burn rates. The most common problem with diesel failure is fuel related (there is no ignition system). If you have bad fuel it's going to kill both engines. Pay the $150 for unlimited towing and don't feed engine #2.

Touche'. If it's within your budget, expected boating usage and you have the space .... I think the 31 single is the way to go .... maybe a single 450 Cummins?

[zinbaad]

<<<<<Just Love the 31TE

[chiefrcd]

Don't know much about the engine, but as far as 31' vs 28', I've always said that my 28 was perfect....if it was only as big as a 31'.

[rkod]

Thanks Guys.

I will look into the single screw option. I think I read a seatow survey that 80-85% of the boats towed are because of fuel related issues? Does seatow come that far offshore for that price??? On the twin engine setup are the tanks connected or are they completely seperate? Again just trying to educate myself.

RicM what do you burn at cruise with your 28TE? What is your cruise speed/max speed with the 28TE?

Zinbaad what do you burn at cruise with your 31TE w/twin 315? What is your cruise speed/max speed with the 31TE?

Just trying to get a feel of the trade-off.

Thanks again...

[Pitou]

In my area SeaTow and BoatUS will come get you on Stellwagen / 20+ miles offshore.

The 28's have a sweet spot cruise anywhere from 16-22 knots. My boat and engine set-up runs about 17-18 knots at 8gph and 22knots at 10gph. With the Cummins 370 at WOT I push 28 knots at 20 gph .... not done often at that fuel burn and not to be done for more than 1 out of 8 hours of engine time. I save that one to out run a T-Storm or beat a falling tide. Last season's average ... 3.1 gph. Ric or someone will get back with the Yanmar burn in the 28 or do a search on "fuel burn" or "gph" lots of info on previous threads.

Get yourself onboard the 28 and a 31 and check them out. The 31 is the 28 on serious steroids! The 28 is nothing to turn away from though. Great boats with alot of envious boaters in our respective marinas!

[RicM]

My 03 28TE with the Yanmar 315 cruises nicely at 18 knts and will do 22 when I nail it. I have not done a scientific test but at 18 knts the burn is around 10-11 gal hour. I averaged 3.3 Gal per hour for the past season of about 150 hrs. If you have fuel problems it's going to effect both engines eventually, ie goop or water in the fuel will shut down 1 engine first but as you suck goop into the other engine it will soon falter also. The tanks are connected and you will usually be buying fuel from the same place and putting it in each tank anyway, you have to keep your tanks close to even levels one way or the other. The other common problem with breakdowns is a bad battery or a drained battery (too long on the hook with the TV on) Twin engines won't help that either. These relatively modern mechanical diesels are fantastically reliable and long lived. There are reports of 10,000 hrs on well maintained Yanmar 315's. The twin engine mania grew at a time when offshore boats with outboards first became popular. 70's outboards were notoriously unreliable and gas was extremely cheap, and they were not capable of high output like the 250 Hp motors of today. Strap on a second motor, go fast, and in the case of a mechanical breakdown, you could still get home.

[zinbaad]

I am not really sure how much I burn with the twin 315' since I only picked her up in late November. I have been to the pumps 2 times to fill up but with the 3 separate tanks flowing into each other hard to judge with the one gage. Going to work on that in the spring. So far I have got 24.5-25 knots running the two at 3600 (not recomended).
Trying to keep at 3200, 21 22 knot range.Judging by the graph posted up for the Yanmar315's which says 9-10 gal hour per. Really not sure how accurate that is.
Listening to someone saying at 3200is when the Turbos kick in
Full tanks, 300 gal, 5 adults & a 14,000 est hull weight.
Will try running 3000 rpm this year for a more efficient run.
I would like to get info on other 31 with same setups & how they are running.
I do wonder how a single 450 Cummins posted up similar Knots with less HP seems to pump out the same knots.
After running on a 28 & liking it very much I checked out a CLEAN 31 and fell in love instantly, lol.