wHAT IS A D330A ENGINE?

I bought 2 navy gen sets from GSA both have D330a engines. Made the first one run , has a lot or navy stuff on it for shipboard use but has cooling system with fans and rad. It looks like cat called a lot of 4 cly engines d330,a,b,c, and they all look different. Mine has a id of 56b3211 , what I would like to know,
1. is the d330a any good or was it a dog, with all the changes it underwent must have been some problems.
2. how is parts.
3. when was it produced.
4 what is the hp, it has a torbo, and drove a 100 kw gen
5. what will it fit in, I only need 1 generator, both are new
6. would it worth re-powering my 25 ton crane with one? 4-53 is sick
Thanks WA7OPY :confused2:

Lots of questions LOL.
As Cat ventured into the 1960"s every brand was experimenting and the D330a and D333a were no different.
Depending on application and usage some did well and some didn't. Most common problems were cracked heads and spun bearings. Cooling issues seemed to be responsible for the head cracking and the new venture into bearing inserts with tab locators instead of dowels along with excess clearances took their toll on bearings.
There are two versions of these engines, the belt driven water pump version in vehicular applications and the gear driven water pumps used on Industrial and Marine versions. The A & B series lasted up to about 1968 when the C series took over. Industrial and Marine versions could be had normally aspirated, turbo charged and turbo charged with aftercooler depending on hp requirement and application.

The "B" designation is somewhat of a misnomer. Only Industrial and Marine engines had that designation and not all versions. Oddly enough all have a "B" designation in the model prefix. All are 4-1/2" bore engines. All have rather limited production in each series but a lot of parts are interchangeable. I suspect Cat furnished parts are becoming limited as has been experienced with gear driven water pumps. Still a lot of engines were produced over the eight year production run.

Your 56B3211 electric set would be 96 hp at 1800 full load rpm or possibly 78 hp at 1500 rpm both in non-parallel application.

I'd think the D330a would make a good application to replace the engine in your crane. That's kind of a limited use non lugging application that doesn't require the unique features such as required in a dozer (oil pan. pump, etc.)
As far as what else will it fit in it's a matter of application. That would determine how far down to basic block and the attachment requirements to fit the new installation.

Thanks OM, I thought the engine was newer than that but it runs good, and with 0 hours it will out run me...WA7OPY