Cat 854G and 854K: cooling circuits, blade controls and editions

854G to early 854K: the engine and cooling changes

The April 2003 854G specification names a 3508B EUI engine. Its separate-circuit aftercooler has six dedicated radiator cores, allowing charge-air cooling to operate independently of the jacket-water circuit. The AMOCS cooling package uses sixteen cores.

A coolant-capacity question must name the circuit: the G brochure lists jacket water separately from SCAC, so the jacket-water entry alone does not describe every coolant compartment.

The April 2008 854K publication moves to a C32 ACERT engine certified to Tier 2 and Stage II. Its NGMR radiator uses fourteen parallel cores in the standard arrangement and sixteen for high ambient temperatures. Copper fins and brass tubes replace the earlier AMOCS construction.

A replacement core should match the cooling package, not merely the 854 model number. Later Tier 4 K specifications elsewhere in the reference tables describe a different emissions arrangement; the 2008 engine figures do not replace those later ratings.

The K blade lever changes the hydraulic command

The G uses a cable-driven lift/lower command. The early K brochure specifically replaces it with a fully pilot-operated implement controller. A momentary switch changes the blade lever's sideways function between tilt and pitch; a separate selector chooses dual tilt.

Hydraulic lockout is on that same control pod. This is a tangible cab difference to identify when comparing machines, beyond an engine-output comparison.

Steering and transmission commands remain combined in STIC. Blade hydraulics are nevertheless separate from the steering/brake system: the second hydraulic group serves the blade and engine-cooling fan. Mixing those groups obscures the meaning of a tank-capacity entry.

The G publication also prints inconsistent litre/gallon pairs for its hydraulic tanks; the original pairs remain identified as published, without turning either pair into an unqualified refill instruction.

Rimpull settings and blade-equipped weights

Both editions offer four factory rimpull presets, with the reduced setting active only in first forward. The pedal ranges differ: G modulation reaches twenty percent available rimpull before further travel applies the brake; the K description gives twenty-four percent. These are impeller-clutch settings, not percentages of engine horsepower.

Converter lockup supplies direct drive in second and third gears, while first-forward lockup is disabled in the speed tables.

Compare blade-equipped masses by blade type. The 2008 K publication prints 98,100 kg on its cover and general weight row, but its detailed semi-U table gives 98,488 kg; heavy-duty semi-U and coal equipment have their own rows. That internal distinction stays visible.

Calling every K a single operating weight would hide it. For a used machine, establish the installed blade and emissions edition before selecting the corresponding reference figure.