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cost of Cat aftercoolers

Discussion in 'Engines' started by boaterholic, Dec 23, 2025 at 10:42 AM.

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  1. boaterholic, Dec 23, 2025 at 10:42 AM
    #1
    boaterholic

    boaterholic Member

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    Can someone give me approximate cost of replacement aftercoolers for Cat 3196 and Cat C-9's?
    Looking at a couple boats of interest powered with these engines and I'm almost certain they have not been replaced at the Cat recommended 6 year interval.

    Also is there a preferred site to order these coolers from?

    Thank you,
    Victor
  2. Pascal, Dec 23, 2025 at 2:25 PM
    #2
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Get an estimate from a Cat Dealer. Cost may depend on whether the housing and pipes have been upgraded to new style, at least that is the case on C32s. Not sure if the housing and pipes are different on the other ones.
  3. boaterholic, Dec 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
    #3
    boaterholic

    boaterholic Member

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    Ok thanks, checking worst case scenario to factor in offers
  4. Pascal, Dec 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
    #4
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    We did them on C32s 10 years ago… it was about 30k including new housing and pipes.
  5. boaterholic, Dec 23, 2025 at 5:34 PM
    #5
    boaterholic

    boaterholic Member

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    Ok thanks. I assume those being larger engines the parts would be a bit more $$$
  6. Capt J, Dec 23, 2025 at 8:14 PM
    #6
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    If you had a cat dealer do the survey they would have given you a quote. It depends on many factors as Pascal said, and access. I just got quoted $16k total to replace the 4 on a set of 1900hp C32's that already have the new style housings.
  7. boaterholic, Dec 23, 2025 at 8:54 PM
    #7
    boaterholic

    boaterholic Member

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    I’m looking ahead at some different boats, a couple of which have Cat power. So I want to factor in the cost of these coolers that Cat wants replaced every 6 years when I make offers if they have not been recently replaced.
    When I get to the point of survey on one I’ll definitely try to get a Cat certified surveyor to do the engines.
    Is there an easy way to tell if they have newer style housings as I am not familiar? The Cat engine models most likely to end up with for checking if newer or older style housings are: C-9, 3196, 3406, C-12, and possibly 3208.
    Thanks for the help!
  8. Capt Ralph, Dec 23, 2025 at 9:25 PM
    #8
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    OMG, not a 3208.
  9. Silver Lining, Dec 24, 2025 at 10:48 AM
    #9
    Silver Lining

    Silver Lining Member

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    I have done aftercoolers on a 3208 a few times and then recently on my C18s. For the 3208s the cost is maybe $5500 per cooler plus labor. I did those myself last time, but the time before 15 years ago I paid maybe 11K all in. For the C18s I recently paid $6.5K per cooler and maybe 6-7K installation figure 20K complete.

    Regarding 3208s, I have 3000 hours on one of mine and it runs perfect with no smoke and burns maybe 1 qt of oil to 100 hours. The thing about 3208s is you have to keep up on the cooling system and realize it is a E rated engine. Which means 30% average load factor to get their rebuild schedule. If you run them easy, get proper 2800 WOT RPMs and dont cruise over 2200 RPM with properly serviced cooling systems, they will last 1000's of hours.
  10. Silver Lining, Dec 24, 2025 at 1:58 PM
    #10
    Silver Lining

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    That is an extremely good price for complete install and replacement of 4 aftercoolers. I just paid $5800 for C18 aftercoolers and the price has gone up 1K since as I got existing stock. I assume the C32 aftercoolers are similar to C18s but twice the number. Are those OEM or aftermarket?