One of the most notorious examples of a CAT that won’t quit is a Caterpillar 3306. While most CAT technicians overlook and even write off these old engines today due to modern, cleaner burning Acert models, they are one of the best engines the mammoth company of Caterpillar ever produced. They can burn 12 gallons of fuel an hour or 16, and operate consistently the same day after day. And that is saying a lot considering Caterpillar was more than likely the equipment used to build the city, town or village you live in, not to mention the highways you drive on everyday.
My knowledge of the 3306 was recently broadened thanks to my brother, a Caterpillar technician, and another member of my family who lives his dream job everyday. His recent in-frame rebuild of a 3306 impressed him, and impressed me when I learned the engine’s life story. To make a long story short, the engine had operated, problem-free, for over 29,000 hours. As we figured up the math together over the phone we realized that this particular 3306 had the equivalent of nearly 1.6 million miles on the clock. It had passed up the recommended rebuild interval of 12,000 hours twice over. Needless to say, CAT diesels are as indestructible as diesels get.