Diesel Place banner

3116 performance

13K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  TXbigtruck 
#1 ·
i've got a 94 kodiak tandem axle grain truck with the 3116. the motor is rated at 275 hp. when you shut the engine down i can hear the blades of the turbo hitting the housing. i felt the compressor shaft the the play seemed to me minimal. someone told me you could put a turbo off of a 3126 on it. would this help performance any? with this being the highest hp of the group is there any room for turning it up? the truck as 190,000 on it, and is no power getter for sure. i don't want it to blow up, so safe hp is what matters to me.

i also read somewhere that i needed to ditch the factory muffler cuz it has a built in cat?? is this true? looks like the original or the original replacement.
 
#2 ·
From my limited understanding, Cat uses the same size block and heads for all its components, they change the turbo, injectors, pump tweaks etc to gain higher hp.....example the 3116 runs from 175ish hp to 600 hp for the coast guard. All depends what Cat decided to bolt onto that particular block
 
#3 ·
a 3116 is 6.6L and the 3126 is 7.2L. so the 3126 is more ci
 
#5 ·
the turbos i have seen have had manual wastegates
 
#6 ·
the original question of will a 3126 turbo work, the answer is yes. You also do not have the highest hp rating for that engine. (600 hp 3116) Not sure on the exhaust, I ran straight exhaust, but it was ungodly loud.
 
#7 ·
will the turbo from the 3126 improve power any? or will i need more fuel for that?
 
#9 ·
no. i was just planning to find a used one in a junk yard or something.
 
#10 ·
I know the dodge guys like them for extra power, may be hard to find, and expensive when you do....what about just replacing the cartridge in what youve got
 
#11 ·
The thing about that motor is it was designed by Cat to be a throw-away motor. Not really made for a lot of horsepower. The Coast Gaurd uses the 600 hp 3116 in some of the boats and it has a LIFE expectancy of 100-150 hours. So I wouldnt necessarily be looking to turn up the power just to terribly much
 
#12 ·
100 - 150 HOURS? Or 150,000 - 200,000 hours? You HAVE to be missing a zero or two in those numbers. Not even the government would but an engine that is rated for a life expectancy of 6 day.
 
#13 ·
Hell two-three oil changes than toss the motor?
 
#14 ·
from what i've read there are goods and there are bads to this motor. it makes no sense to me to have an engine that would only last 100 hrs. i'm not looking for a big hp gain. when i shut the truck off and get out, as the turbo is winding down i can hear the fins hitting the cover so i know i will be looking for a turbo in the near future. i've heard the 3126 turbo would fit and would be an improvement. used ones are listed on ebay for $250 on up to $900 for a new one. i'm confidient i could find a good used one if it was worth it, if not i will just go with a stock replacement. i plan on adding a boost gauge to see if i'm getting full boost or not. is there any need for a pyro?? or do i just need that if i crank the fuel? i just got the truck about 8 months ago and haven't really started driving until this harvest, so i have no idea what it ran like 50,000 mi ago compaired to now. the the guy owned it for 12 years before me took very good care of it. that is only reason i bought it.

i realize this is no big power motor, it might have big hp but it just can't make the torque of the bigger cats, detriots, and cummins. my 12.7 detroit with a gross weight of 85,000 pulls better than this truck does empty (around 20,000 empty)
 
#15 ·
The turbo will work, no question.....and Im looking for that article right now, but it was a true 100-150 hrs then toss the motor.....blew my mind
 
#16 ·
link?? all i can find is the marine motors have a 6000 hr overhaul interval. i just don't see how they can believe it is cost efficiant to replace a motor every 100 hrs, but i guess that is our country for you.
 
#17 ·
Im still looking, I used to own a 3116 6500 topkick and was looking to turn it up. While doing all my research, I found that the Coast Gaurd was turning them up to 600 hp for some sort of patrol boat, but the motor was only lasting between 100-150 hours. I couldnt believe it. But Injector Cups and cylinder "egging" were the most common problem for that particular motor, as well as having a few hundred blocks that were cast in France having issues.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top