Atention BD Brake Owners. Have a question.

[Deleted member 995608]

I'm proud to say that my DB Power EB has flawlessly performed for over 200k miles, . . . . untill last week. The compressor works, the air piston works, but the butterfly won't fully close. I can close it (while operating) by hand with a pry bar.



I put a call into BD tech and came to the conclusion that the air cyl had gone caput. Ordered the part, $60 -/+ but it did not fix the problem.



Next, I disasembled the entire exhaust and remove the EB from the turbo. I found a sticky butterfly so I soaked it in kerosine for the day. Presto! I reassembled the EB and exhaust and it worked like a champ, . . . . . ONCE.



Called BD this morning and was informed that I need to replace the brake. Damnit!



They have two options. New -$460something or rebuilt -$240something. The reMan is calling me but I also now that if you buy cheap, you buy twice.



Have any of you guys had to replace your BD brake assembly yet?

 

[jelag]

PacBrake offers a lube for brakes before they started to nitrite the housing... The nitrite coating on the new brakes is a life time coating... Yet when I was in business I would give each new brake a couple of drops of the lube before installation...

What's important here, is that anything else we had a customer try wouldn't work... the heat would just cause it to burn up and gum up the butterfly... . you need a lube that has the ability to handle the heat.

Call an ask for Harold at BD, the Harold that used to work at PacBrake and talk with him about the lube... or go find a PacBrake Distributor and purchase a tube of the lube... . about $10... a few drops on the butterfly ends and that should do it... .

You need full line pressure at the cylinder (90 psi) and than spray it with soapy water... if there are no leaks than the cylinder isn't the problem... we only replaced cylinders when they would leak past the piston, and than the rod seal.

Do not remove the butterfly from the shaft... . the butterfly is fit to the shaft to maintain certain clearances and its very hard to get the butterfly back to the shaft and aligned correctly so that it functions correctly.

Hope I covered all your needs... Even though I sold the competition we serviced them all...

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Thanks Jelag. After I took the elbow out, cleaned it and reinstalled, I'm pretty sure those tight tolerances that you speak of are worn past acceptable levels so a new assembly is required. I didn't take the butterfly assembly apart, though. I could see that it's not a do it yourself job without the proper tools.



I'll ask about lubing it prior to install. I'm just concerned about whether to buy new or to pick up a Reman. . . .

 

[BILLUA]

PMJI,

But, if you plan on keeping the truck say more than 12 months, I would think you have your answer on the reman/new issue...

 

[BD-Hector]

Whoa,I guess we didn't ask enough questions this morning, when you and I spoke you only said it was hanging up and the butterfly was sticky by hand.



Before you replace the brake, lets check the air pressure coming out of both the comppressor and the solenoid. Out of the compressor it should build to 110/120 psi, (before the regulator) after the regulator/pressure switch you should be looking at 85 to90 psi. If you have a slight air restriction this will cause the cylinder to not fully close. But if the butterfly doe's not move freely with two fingers (without the cylinder connected) your more then likely looking at a valve replacement. Lube works for a little while but as a rule burns off after a few activations. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me at 1-800-887-5030 ext 106



Regards,

Hector

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Wow, Hector! Thanks, I'll be in touch.

 

[jelag]

I think Hector said what I thought I said above... I've ran the PacBrake units 500K miles before I traded the truck... can't see why the BD unit would be worn out... at your low mileage... you have to develop the air pressure for it to work... . I noticed he didn't say a thing about the lube... I can only assume yours hasn't been nitrate coated at the factory so the lube in my opinion should help...

Have a great 4th... .

 

[rscurtis]

This discussion reminds me of a thread several weeks ago where a member wanted to build his own brake because it was so simple and there was no reason an EB should cost $1000.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Attn: Hector @ BD

I can't say thanks enough for all your help. You were absolutely right about the inlet/outlet ports on the solenoid; I screwed that one up. After I swapped those back to the correct position, I was back in action. I adjusted the stop bolt as suggested and idle pressure is stable.



Jelag - I think the lube idea has some merit but I son't see the point in it because it will burn off in no time flat. Unless I habitually disamsemble the exhaust to lube on a regular basis, I personally find it pointless. JMO

 

[BD-Hector]

Glad to hear you are up and running again.



Hector