Product Description

The Caterpillar D398 is a V12 four-stroke turbocharged diesel engine in the Caterpillar large-bore D-Series family (D379 inline-8 / D398 V12 / D399 V16) allegedly produced from the 1960s through the 1990s for continuous-duty industrial, marine propulsion and auxiliary, oilfield drilling, standby-power, and utility prime-power service. The D398 was rated in the roughly 850-1,125 horsepower continuous-duty range and became one of Caterpillar’s flagship medium-speed engines for large workboat propulsion, offshore-platform generator sets, pipeline compressor stations, drilling-rig prime power, and continuous-duty industrial standby-power installations.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Caterpillar D398 industrial and marine diesel engines were sealed and heat-shielded with asbestos-containing materials at the following documented product joints:

  • Cylinder head gaskets — metal-clad, chrysotile-asbestos-composite head gaskets at each cylinder head-to-block interface on the D398 V12 architecture
  • Exhaust-manifold-to-cylinder-head flange gaskets — compressed asbestos-sheet and metal-clad asbestos-composite gaskets at every exhaust port between the D-series heads and the water-cooled exhaust manifold
  • Turbocharger inlet and outlet flange gaskets — asbestos-composite gaskets at the D398 twin-turbocharger hot-side inlet, cold-side outlet, and oil-drain return
  • Exhaust-elbow, expansion-joint, and marine-riser flange gaskets — asbestos-sheet gaskets at exhaust flange joints downstream of the manifold, including water-jacketed marine risers
  • Asbestos-fabric heat-shield wrap — asbestos-cloth wrap and asbestos-blanket heat shielding on D398 hot exhaust manifolds and turbocharger housings in enclosed marine engine rooms, offshore-platform gen rooms, and industrial engine compartments
  • Asbestos packing at engine service connections — cooling-water, lube-oil, and fuel-connection flange packing

Caterpillar D-series large-bore engines were routinely scraped, re-gasketed, and re-wrapped during periodic cylinder-head service, top-end overhaul, and turbocharger replacement. Scraping old asbestos gasket material from cast-iron manifold and head flanges, cutting new asbestos-sheet gaskets to shape, and stripping and re-wrapping asbestos manifold heat-shield fabric allegedly released respirable asbestos fibers into the mechanic’s breathing zone.

Caterpillar D398 industrial and marine diesel engines have been named in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation as a product-vector exposure source for marine engineers, oilfield diesel mechanics, industrial powerhouse crews, and standby-power technicians.

Workers Exposed

  • Industrial diesel mechanics performing head-gasket, manifold, and turbo overhaul on Caterpillar D379 / D398 / D399 large-bore engines in industrial and utility continuous-duty installations
  • Marine engineers working D398 propulsion and auxiliary installations aboard tugs, offshore supply vessels, dredges, and inland/coastal workboats
  • Oilfield engine mechanics servicing D-series prime-power engines on land and offshore drilling rigs, compressor stations, and pumping installations
  • Powerhouse enginemen operating Cat D398 and D399 continuous-duty and prime-power generator sets in industrial and utility installations
  • Standby generator technicians servicing Caterpillar large-bore standby power installations across hospitals, data centers, and continuous-process industrial sites
  • Insulators installing and stripping asbestos-fabric heat-shield wrap on D398 hot exhaust manifolds and turbocharger housings