The problem:
A national Australian contract miner approached Geographe after finding that when rebuilding CAT 3500 series engines for their fleet, the OEM engine spacers were only lasting up to 6000 hours.
Spacer plates are important components of the cylinder block engine assembly however it was found that the corrosion from the recommended OEM coolant was causing them to fail prematurely.
This resulted in the engine requiring an overhaul earlier than scheduled and so our client was looking for a solution that allowed greater machine uptime.
The solution:
Geographe reversed engineered the sample provided and after a spectrographic analysis, proposed a material change to allow the spacer to perform longer with the correct engine coolant.
After manufacturing some trial spacers and running them on a freshly rebuilt engine, the results far exceeded our client’s expectations lasting well over 3 times that of the OEM component.
The results and savings achieved:
| CAT 3500 Engine Spacer (V16 example) – Client Trial results | OEM | GEOGRAPHE |
| Part number | 362-9677 | 11538062 |
| Hours lasted before removal | 6000 | 20,000 |
| Part causing leakage of coolant when removed? | Yes | No |
| Reported by the client as reusable? | No – too corroded | Yes – in good condition |
| Approximate cost per spacer | $365.00 AUD | $365.00 AUD |
| Total spacer costs per engine | $5840.00 AUD | $5840.00 AUD |
| Cost per 6000hrs used | $5840.00 AUD | $1770.00 AUD |
For every engine rebuild carried out, a direct cost saving on parts alone of over $4000 AUD is achievable.
The saving is significantly larger when considering the minimum of 3 x the saving achieved on labour change-out costs and downtime and the potential for the Geographe spacer to be reusable multiple times.
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These spacers are compatible with machines featuring a CAT 3500 Series V16 engine. These may include:
OFF HIGHWAY TRUCKS
776D, 777, 777D, 793C, 785D, 789D, 785D, 785C, 789B, 777C, MT4400DAC, 793D, 785, 797B, 789, 797, 785B, 789C, 776C, 777B, 777DHAA, 784C
WHEEL LOADERS
994F, 992G, 994H
WHEEL DOZERS
854G
TRACK DOZERS
D11R, D11RCD, D11N
Click here to see the product in our online store. Spacers are made to order depending on the number of engines being rebuilt.
