Mobil guard 450nc in mechanical cat

[Caterpillarmarineman]

Long time listener first time caller . I’ve got a bunch of this mobilguard 450nc 40w , I want to run it in my 3116ta marine it says it’s for emd and large engines but says it’s acceptable wherever cf-2 is required so it sounds ok to me . It also says zinc free no chlorine. Not sure if my engine needs zinc I’ve heard a little info on zinc and flat tappet cams but I don’t know any particulars . Link for Mobil datasheet https://www.exxonmobil.com/en-us/marine/pds/gl-xx-mobilgard-450-nc

 

[burbguy82]

Never heard of it. I assume this engine is in a boat?

I wonder who makes CAT SAEO oil? I would research that and get some technical info on it before running your oil.

https://www.petersoncat.com/sites/cat/files/downloads/Cat SAEO.pdf
https://www.exxonmobil.com/en-us/marine/pds/gl-xx-mobilgard-450-nc

 

[JavierH19]

The 3116 cam is not a flat tappet from what I'm seeing so no problem and there are other zddp and phos free oils out there like chevron adf 600 and it's known to protect well since it passes wear tests. I wouldn't be afraid to use it in that engine.

 

[Caterpillarmarineman]

Never heard of it. I assume this engine is in a boat?

I wonder who makes CAT SAEO oil? I would research that and get some technical info on it before running your oil.

https://www.petersoncat.com/sites/cat/files/downloads/Cat SAEO.pdf
https://www.exxonmobil.com/en-us/marine/pds/gl-xx-mobilgard-450-nc

I think Mobil used to make all there oil but they switched a year or two ago I believe

 

[burbguy82]

I think Mobil used to make all there oil but they switched a year or two ago I believe

The links I provided show that there is a difference, perhaps a significant one between the two oils. Not sure if the differences matter in your application, but for such an expensive engine\install. I would not use anything unless I was 100% certain it met the specs.

 

[userfriendly]

Zn free locomotive engine oils are intended for EMD two stroke engines that have silver coated bearings.
If a small railway has a fleet of mixed locomotives, they will use the Zn free product in all of them.
An example of an EMD with silver bearings and the most common is the 3,000 hp 16-645.
Some of oddball 12 and 16 cylinder EMDs don’t have the silver bearings.
Typically locomotive engine oils are SAE 40 or 20W40 group one blended from good old Pennsylvania crude.
The non-chlorinated designation is for recycling considerations.

 

[greaseguy15]

So doing a little internet searching is leading me to some conflicting answers here. Mobil’s line selector recommends a multigrade 15w40 or 10w30 for the CAT 3100 series diesel engine.

Just searching 3116TA found me a couple older brochures listing only a straight 30 or 40 weight oil as acceptable. They also called out the CF-2 specification as being acceptable.

Based on this info I’d probably give your local CAT dealer a call with your serial number handy just to confirm but my gut says your ok to use it.