Bundy exhaust brake

[CharlesinGA]

I have had good luck with the Banks Exhaust brakes. Have one in an 06 5.9 six speed and one in an 07 5.9
with a 48Re. Had a vac pump problem in one when it was new and Banks immediately replaced it for free.
Have about 260k miles on the pair and no other problems.
Yes, you have to add the vac pump and a longer belt, but those come with the pump kit. Replacing the exhaust elbow at the rear of the manifold takes some time and patience because its a tight area to work in and my hands are big.
The wiring was straight forward. Easier on the manual transmission than the 48Re. Again the big hands.
There is a bit of maintenance involved. About every 60k miles I remove the vac pump, take the four little bolts out of it and drain the oil out. Only holds an ounce or two. Then I refill it with Rotell T-4.
Sure love them on the long downhills

"06 and early '07 both have torque converter lockup integrated into the vehicle's computer and wiring. PacBrake uses the two pins on the computer for exhaust brake operation, one wire from the toggle switch which makes a ground telling the computer to operate the EB, the second wire is the computer making a ground (very low current capability) to control a bosch type relay to operate the EB. '06-'07 wiring is identical for the stick shift and automatic. I have read thru the installation instructions for the Banks system and find it much more complicated and many parts to install.

The brake valve install is not very difficult, as you remove the front RH wheel and 8 screws that hold the wheel well liner in. Put a moving quilt or old jeans, etc over the brake area and lean in to do the work. Much easier to do that than to attempt to do anything from above.

I hate to sound like a PacBrake fan boy, but for similar money ($1428 for PB vs $1779 for Banks) you get a simpler system and free compressed air as a byproduct of having the air compressor.

However, the ultimate decision is the OP's.

Charles

 

[steve69]

"06 and early '07 both have torque converter lockup integrated into the vehicle's computer and wiring. PacBrake uses the two pins on the computer for exhaust brake operation, one wire from the toggle switch which makes a ground telling the computer to operate the EB, the second wire is the computer making a ground (very low current capability) to control a bosch type relay to operate the EB. '06-'07 wiring is identical for the stick shift and automatic. I have read thru the installation instructions for the Banks system and find it much more complicated and many parts to install.

The brake valve install is not very difficult, as you remove the front RH wheel and 8 screws that hold the wheel well liner in. Put a moving quilt or old jeans, etc over the brake area and lean in to do the work. Much easier to do that than to attempt to do anything from above.

I hate to sound like a PacBrake fan boy, but for similar money ($1428 for PB vs $1779 for Banks) you get a simpler system and free compressed air as a byproduct of having the air compressor.

However, the ultimate decision is the OP's.

Charles

Thanks for the info.

 

[Motorhead]

I have 100,000 miles on my Pacbrake PRXB on my 2007, 5.9, manual transmission. No issues with the brake itself. Had to replace the compressor once.
I installed a Pacbrake PRXB on my neighbors 2006 with the 48re. It works flawlessly and there isn't any extra wiring you have to add to lock the torque converter. Easy install.

 

[Tuesdak]

I had the Pacbrake on my 2003 NV5600 from the PO. Other than maintenance it worked as advertised.

I had to hook up a loose air line when I first got it. Then I had to use their special lube on the entire system as the air control solenoid would bind up and not work. Had it bind up twice in ~50K miles and 6 years. The vacuum pump vibration bushings were shot being mounted on the engine when I sold the truck. I wouldn't choose a kit option that mounts the vac pump on the engine due to diesel vibration as I don't have ice concerns here.

 

[White2005]

Another option:
https://us.bddiesel.com/products/5-...bo-kit-dodge-2003-2007?variant=31051735662661

 

[RussellSullivan]

Another option:
https://us.bddiesel.com/products/5-...bo-kit-dodge-2003-2007?variant=31051735662661

Yikes!

 

[White2005]

Yikes!

?

 

[CharlesinGA]

The howler kit is great but they don't tell you it flows so much air that if you horse it slightly the stock injectors cannot keep up and it sets codes. Add in the price of new injectors. That was in a review of the kit by someone, who installed it, then started having issues.

 

[CharlesinGA]

I had the Pacbrake on my 2003 NV5600 from the PO. Other than maintenance it worked as advertised.

I had to hook up a loose air line when I first got it. Then I had to use their special lube on the entire system as the air control solenoid would bind up and not work. Had it bind up twice in ~50K miles and 6 years. The vacuum pump vibration bushings were shot being mounted on the engine when I sold the truck. I wouldn't choose a kit option that mounts the vac pump on the engine due to diesel vibration as I don't have ice concerns here.

You are saying vacuum pump, do you mean air compressor? I think the reason for it being mounted on the engine was pure convenience, and noise reduction. You cannot hear the compressor mounted to that big hunk of noise absorbing iron.

 

[steve69]

After all my studying on it. Decided to go with pac. Thanks for all the suggestions

 

[Tuesdak]

You are saying vacuum pump, do you mean air compressor? I think the reason for it being mounted on the engine was pure convenience, and noise reduction. You cannot hear the compressor mounted to that big hunk of noise absorbing iron.

Oops. Yes, Yes I did.