valve adjustment for cat 3208

[Bill White]

How many Beavers have cat 3208 engines?   I am looking for someone that has had their valves adjusted on the cat 3208 engine.  I want to know if this increases the fuel mileage, cuts down on the black exhaust and who performed the adjustments and the cost to do the job.   Thanks for any input you may have.  Bill White

[Gerald Farris]

Sorry that it took so long to answer your question, but I was hoping that one of the 3208 owners would chip in and give their opinion.

As far as I know, the Cat 3208 was in the Marquis from 1986 to 1990 and the Contessa in 1990 and 1991.

If you want to adjust the valves to increase fuel milage and cut down on the black smoke, it will probably have little or no effect on either.

There will be several 3208 equipped coaches at the International Rally in Albuquerque in March. If you are there, see me and I will introduce you to their owners (at least 2 are original owners).

Gerald  

[Richard And Babs Ames]

http://catrvclub.org/ and their links button and then the yahoo group would be good to join.

[Michael Collins]

We had a Cat 3208 in a 90 Marquis. The valves had been adjusted, the exhaust improved and the fuel pump tuned up to increase performance. We returned the fuel pump to the factory settings. We observed no change in mileage and the black smoke was still a problem.

[Iris Schmidt]

Bill- Yes, Wally and I are owners of a 1990 Marquis that has 256.345 miles on a 3208 Cat. Have had the valves adjusted twice- once when it was fairly new then again when we blew a head gasket at 194,000 miles. We get about 7 miles per gal at 55 mph and as for the "Black smoke" suggest you have a Cat dealer tech check the "fuel air ratio" .How long has it been since you changed the air cleaner? I generally clean my  AC  filter once a year being very careful using about 40 # air pressure to prevent blowing a hole in the paper element. Purchase a new air filter every 2 years for about $40.00. You should also have the acidity of the coolant checked once a year. You are going to have to figure on spending $200 to $300 for all this preventive maintenance work. Should have the tech clean the crankcase breather also. Presume your 3208 is a 300 HP with a turbo! Should you need to replace your turbo sometime down the road let me know for I have a rebuilt one at a reasonable price if it would fit your unit. If there is anything else we can be of help just let us know. Hope to see you in Albuquerque. Wally and iris.