BD exhaust brake any good?

[Funcozilla]

I want to put an exhaust brake on my 04.5 DRW 4x4, a shop in town recommends the BD air powered unit anyone use one and are they any good?, Thanks in advance

 

[DAN V]

AFAIK, I think the BD runs off of vacuum. I am going with the Pacbrake PRXB myself. I have had good luck with them in the past.

 

[Killgore]

Funcozilla, I have the BD system with the air compressor on my '06 (#2023330). I am a very satisfied customer. Customer support has been excellent. I had a bad compressor out of the box and BD air-freighted another compressor at no expense and got me going.

My wife had no difficulties with the install and minimum help from me. LOL. I consider this addition one of the best bangs for the bucks that I've made.

- Ed

 

[SnoKing]

Funcozilla, I have the BD system with the air compressor on my '06 (#2023330). I am a very satisfied customer. Customer support has been excellent. I had a bad compressor out of the box and BD air-freighted another compressor at no expense and got me going.

My wife had no difficulties with the install and minimum help from me. LOL. I consider this addition one of the best bangs for the bucks that I've made.

- Ed

Ed, your BD brake is safe, but you should watch for those that would steal your wife! SNOKING

 

[Killgore]

Chris, you are absolutely correct! I consider her the most valuable possession that I'm possessed with.

 

[MMeier]

Ed,your wife works on the truck ?! She have a sister??:-laf

 

[Killgore]

Her sister ain't worth a hoot, however, Jennifer will lend a hand at anytime. She's right short with small hands and doesn't mind jumping right in. I tend to be big with large hands and we therefore make a good team.

When we put the E/B on she had been doing housework in her pajamas and walked outside to check on me. Asked how it was going, I told her that I needed her to wiggle the exhaust while I tightened the clamps on the turbo. In her pajamas she wiggled under the truck and went to work. Hah! She's also indispensable when monkeying around with the ECM.

And, to beat all, she's not afraid of spiders!

 

[Grizzly]

AFAIK, I think the BD runs off of vacuum. I am going with the Pacbrake PRXB myself. I have had good luck with them in the past.

Totally agree. I too have the Pacbrake.

 

[Killgore]

Every product should have a competitor; that assures competition and results in the better deal for the customer. I think it's called one of the benefits of 'capitalism', lol. In this case, I believe you could almost flip a coin and not be disappointed with either.

In principle, both function pretty much the same. The compressor location on the PRXB initially subjected it to excessive vibration and I understand there were some premature failures. However, the compressor has been beefed up and the problem eliminated. The compressor on the BD is mounted under the wheel well and is not subject to external interferences. I do prefer the air tank with the Pacbrake and I think that the difference in price only reflects this additional item.

I don't think you will be disappointed with either.

- Ed

- Ed

 

[WalterJ]

I've had great service from my Banks Exhaust Brake. It runs off a vacuum pump, so requires a longer/different serpentine belt. Based upon my line pressure in the 2004.5 Ram, it cuts out below 1,500 RPM. Keeps my <60MPH down a 6% grade with my 5er pushin' me.

 

[Doubleclutch]

The Jake Brake exhaust brake used to be an option when buying a truck before the vane turbo days. Vacuum pump with belt as mentioned by Walter. They are a "wear" item, but perfectly adequate. I used the excuse of installing an exhaust brake to install an air system on my truck, with a constant duty cycle pump. Started out with a BD turbo elbow brake that worked great. Went to 4 inch exhaust, I know..., used a Pac PXRB inline. Worked great. You can't go wrong with either manufacturer. Remember, you don't have to buy the whole system to get the brake! Gelag, a member here on the board, helped me out piecing a system together when he was at Pacbrake. The BD folks would probably do the same. By the way, I once had a girlfriend who was double jointed, and could scratch her elbow with either hand.... <G>

 

[p-Bar]

Hey doubleclutch what difference did you find between the inline and the elbow ? I assume the elbow was more responsive?

 

[Doubleclutch]

Yes. Not a lot, but a little bit. That good judgment comes from experience thingie in your signature... I could have used that when I up scaled my exhaust, and only bought ONE exhaust brake! <G> A lot of times I wished for you're HID's on my 4.5. Settled for some aftermarket bolt-ons that did the trick but added more complexity. Either style brake is good, plan ahead on exhaust future needs before deciding.

 

[sphack]

Funcozilla, I have the BD system with the air compressor on my '06 (#2023330). I am a very satisfied customer. Customer support has been excellent. I had a bad compressor out of the box and BD air-freighted another compressor at no expense and got me going.

- Ed

Ed, I've been doing some reading here on this question. It looks like you were initially going to get a pacbrake. What made you change your mind?

 

[Killgore]

Sphack, you are pretty observant. I vacillated, procrastinated and researched the question to death. (Actually, a flip of the coin would have been a better approach using hindsight.) I called the Pacbrake plant; I talked to Hector with BD; and finally decided that both products were basically the same. In fact, I found that the plants are located about twenty miles from each other and some of the key people had at one time or another worked for the competitor. Having spent the best years of my life in one uniform or another, I was impressed that Pacbrake supplied exhaust brakes to the military.

All that being said, I liked the idea of the air compressor on the BD being located in the wheel-well instead of on the engine. (I didn't think too much of that idea when I found the compressor was bad and had to remove and replace it. It would have been less aggravating if it had been sitting up on the engine.) Since the install I have had to replace my injectors and taken the advice of several experts on here, who I hold in high esteem, and added additional filtration. If I had used the Pacbrake engine mounted compressor, I suspect the GDP 2-mic kit that I added might have been a little more involved as far as fitting it in a tight place. (By the way, I went with the Donaldson P-551313 filter which I got from the local Cat dealer for about $15 instead of the Fleetguard FF-5320. The Donaldson is rated at 3-microns absolute, whereas the Fleetguard isn't quite as good, or so my research leads me to believe.)

Would I like to have a bigger air-compressor and perhaps an air-tank of some volume? Sure! But just like most on here, I have the $50 small compressor that's usually in my way in the toolbox. I also manage to carry the compressor out of my shop and my generator when I hook up the fiver and hit the road.

I saved a few dollars going with the BD because I didn't buy the tank, but all in all, I believe either one is a good buy and a very good investment.

- Ed

 

[STEVEBROOKS]

I'm interested in (finally) installing an EB on my truck, and found this old thread. If any of the previous thread participants could provide an update, that'd be great. If anybody else wants to comment on the pros/cons of the BD and Pacbrake EBs, that'd be great too.

Thanks in advance for the inputs.

Steve

 

[Killgore]

Steve, I'm still alive and fussing. My previous posts on this thread are still pertinent. The BD exhaust brake has performed flawlessly. Oh sure, the push-pull button mounted on the stick rattles but I just take a large rubber band and put it around the button and the stick, and all gets quiet. (I had the same issues on a F-750's two-speed axle nearly forty years ago - probably the same aggravating push-pull button). Everything has held up with no problems. I use the exhaust brake continuously and would recommend BD in a heart beat. And, I also believe PacBrake builds a quality product; it's a win-win!

- Ed

 

[Doubleclutch]

There is no down side. Fortunately for me, the frequency of the EF switch's rattle is right in the middle of my area of hearing loss. Drives the wife crazy, so the rubber band trick described by Killgore works well.

 

[STEVEBROOKS]

Steve, I'm still alive and fussing. My previous posts on this thread are still pertinent. The BD exhaust brake has performed flawlessly. Oh sure, the push-pull button mounted on the stick rattles but I just take a large rubber band and put it around the button and the stick, and all gets quiet. (I had the same issues on a F-750's two-speed axle nearly forty years ago - probably the same aggravating push-pull button). Everything has held up with no problems. I use the exhaust brake continuously and would recommend BD in a heart beat. And, I also believe PacBrake builds a quality product; it's a win-win!

- Ed

Thanks Ed! What advice/tips/etc do you have regarding the BD install?

Steve

 

[p-Bar]

I've been using the BD for almost a year now install was easy on the mechanical end the wiring was tough but it all came together. Great customer support.