Thread: 3316 or 3208 cat

can the differences in the catapillar 3316 and the 3208 diesel motor be explained??

Well, just saw this old post, but I'll answer it any way. The 3316 is an inline six engine which was available in HP ranges from 175 to (I believe) 350. It has a solid reputation for efficiency and durability. The 3208 is a V8 engine of 636 cubic inches. It is usually used in N.A. applications and has a less than stellar reputation. It was designed as a "throw away" engine, and it can be a bit of a ...jerk. These engines however were early pioneers of the medium duty diesel market, at a time when everything else was gas. The most common rating for these engines is 210 HP, but other ratings exist. They aren't bad engines, however. It's just that they suffered allot of misuse from people who were used to gas engines. One of the cool things about them is that they have an injection pump in the valley that looks like a mini V8. Let's put it this way... the 3316 is better than the 3208 in just about every way, however, the 3208 isn't a bad engine.