Is CAT 3406C any good?

I owned a truck with a 3406c engine in it and it was great. It was the first time I had a truck with cruise control and I loved it. A 3406c is basically the same as a B model except it has electronic accelerator and fuel measuring. The engine is really simple to work on.

What I question is...what is a 3406c doing in a 1998 Pete? The 3406E was the Cat engine for that year. I would check and see if the truck is a glider kit! Also, why would it need a overhaul at 450k? Those engines run 1 mill miles easily! Something is fishy here!

 

The C engine is all mechanical unless it is a PEEC motor(PEEC=JUNK). i had a 97 ford ltl9000 with the C engine and it was ALL mechanical. Still 425hp, but they dont rev like the B engine because of newer emissions requirements.

 

actually, if the build date was late 97, it could have still been an ALL mechanical C model. As far as the E model goes, you could one of those in a truck in as early as late 94. from 94 to 97 it could have been an E, C, or a B really.

 

The old 3406 cat engines were good motors imo. Like the old Cummins Big cam, any competent diesel mechanic with a few marbles rolling around in his head could repair them.

 

I wouldn't worry about any engine that is stamped 3406. Its true what was posted earlier it could be a mechanical C, PEEK, or E. For the record PEEK does not equal junk there are several of us that were new to the game when them were new, we figured out if want to excel in this field learn the technology so you can properly diagnose and repair what everyone is so scared of without swapping it over to mechanical. Made many a truck owners and their drivers happy with the 4CK 460hp PEEK.

 

Finding those few people that know how to work on a PEEC is the problem. We had one in a Pete and it had a lot of power. Then it started having issues and we spent alot of money getting it repaired. Back in 04 when we had it and called local Blanchards they would just say "Oh boy" when you told them it was a PEEC. I think we probably had 3-4K in the fuel system issues in about 2.5 years. IF you can find someone that knows what they are doing or can swap it to mechanical then you have a great motor.

 

They remind me of the sdp c15, a drastic change in electronic controls compared to what we were use to. The first people to see and work on them were probably scared to do so.but with proper understanding of how things work and not just throwing parts at them, they run well

 

Mine had the peek engine and I ordered a repair manual from CAT and was able to do most work myself. They were basically the same as a B model, except it had a electric controlled fuel pump. Engine ran great and I had very few problems with it.