New Caterpillar Engines Installed – We Are Ready To Go Fishing

These are our new caterpillar engines

We are so excited to let you know that we just purchased two new REMAN 3126 Caterpillar 7.2L (350 H.P.) engines.    We also bought new transmissions for the Distraction Charter Boat.    We knew the day was coming when we would re-invest in new  engines.   Even though our other engines have served us since 2002, we felt it was TIME to pull them out and replace them.

The 3126 Cat engines were pushing 25,000 hours.    That many hours is about equivalent to 1,000,000 road miles.   We always spend close to $35k each year on maintenance, there were some signs of exterior metal aging that I didn’t like.  The engines were burning a little more oil than I liked.   Instead of doing a complete rebuild on our old engines, it made sense to search and find a new set of engines.

Our New Engine Panel and Cluster

The engines we found were just re manufactured by Caterpillar 3126’s at $42,000 each.  They also come with a two year warranty.   Buying certified caterpillar reman engines made sense.  So we purchased two of them.

After talking to my best friend Gary Broussard and lifelong sidekick and worlds best cattle rancher, he asked about my transmissions accessibility?  He asked “How hard would it be to get the transmissions out of boat and from behind engines, if I had a gear failure?”    I told him that getting the old ones out would be a pain.

So, I headed Gary”s advice and went ahead and purchased two new ZF 220A-1 gears/transmission for the boat.   It would be a whole lot easier to pull and replace two new gears in while we had the engines out, than have to do it later or when it was a hot summer day in a 120 degree engine room.    Those new transmissions cost me another $13,000.

Replacing Engine Gauges and Tachometers

By the time we got through installing the new engines and gears, we realized that the electronics panel we had was outdated and some gauges were not reading correctly on the new engines sending units.   Well, we decided to have a couple of new panels built in California from AC/DC Marine to the tune of $1,600.     They would turn out to be just fine.

After looking upstairs in my wheelhouse at the new panels, I decided it was time to upgrade where my panels held my gauges were mounted.   I fabricated and built the new panel myself.   I’m glad I did.  It looks nice.

The Cost Of Re Powering Engines

All in all, re-investing and spending $114,036 to keep my boat in top running order makes sense.   I believe in having my customers informed about how we keep our vessel in top running condition.   Hopefully, with my preventive maintenance program, these new engines will last 23 years like my old ones did.

I hope you understand why we charge what we do for the service we provide our family friends.  We don’t want to ever let you down.  We promise that we will always keep your safety in mind, while providing you a well maintained vessel.

Cant wait to show them off to you!