Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Exhaust Brake Confusion

[MRiley]

Help! I'm getting my first 5th and from what I've read here I'm going to really need an exhaust brake. Which is best? I have a 4in straight pipe and do not want to do anything that would defeat the benefits of that. I was looking at the Banks site. Are they worth the extra $$$? How hard are these to install? I'm a fairly good shade tree but is this a diy jo?. Or will I have to have the exhaust shop make the pipe connections? Mainly I'm just looking for advice on picking out the right unit on the first time around. I just hate having to redo things because it wasn't correct the first time.



Thanks in advance for all of your help and advice.

 

[JBigelow]

I would not know about. DIY But I have a PAC brake. I works fine for me. Having a exhaust brake very nice. I do not think it is always a must have. How heavy is your trailer? how much will you tow it?

 

[SnoKing]

If you want to upgrade Turbo's some day then go with an inline brake. I have the Banks 4" Turbo mounted Brake and had to get their intermediate pipe along with their down pipe to complete the installation. My trailer weight 11250 and I really like the Brake, however I have the auto transmission which does little to hold the trailer back. BD's brake is suppost to work at lower RPM's which is good with a manual transmission. SNOKING

 

[MRiley]

How heavy is your trailer? how much will you tow it?

I will be right at 12,000. I know it is not the heaviest out there but in northern Arizona where I live we have some huge mountains with 6 - 7% down hills. .

 

[SnoKing]

I will be right at 12,000. I know it is not the heaviest out there but in northern Arizona where I live we have some huge mountains with 6 - 7% down hills. .

So get an inline brake that mounts in your 4 inch pipe under that truck. You will really like it going down the hills. SNOKING

 

[JLinder]

I've got a BD inline brake that is 4", so no restriction from it on the rest of my 4" exhaust system. If you have a welder, you could install it yourself in a couple of hours. My only compaint was that BD left out a couple of parts that were supposed to be in the kit.

 

[PC12Driver]

I've had a Jacobs exhaust brake on my truck since it was new (90,000 miles ago) and used it extensively. Nothing fancy, good price, always worked. It worked great pulling 10k through the Rockies, and also worked well for day to day driving. The directions were great and it took about 3 hours to install. The hardest part for me was getting to the ECM to insert the pin for the 12v source (there's no accelerator pedal switch for the 01 HO; the ECM will send 12v about 1-2 seconds after the pedal is lifted). And that wasn't really hard at all.



But I've since swapped turbos and I can't use my turbo mount any more. Right now I'm leaning toward a 4" inline version of the new Pac Brake PRXB. It has a variable valve like the BD, so it'll have much stronger braking at lower rpms (compared to the basic fixed oriface exhaust brakes). There isn't an "official" kit 4" inline kit available for our trucks yet, but according to Rip @ www.sourceautomotive.biz, he can have them put something together for about $1,100.

 

[mattk50]

i have the us gear super duty de cellerator and really like it. its a 4 inch in line

that mounts between the cat and muffler. it has a waste gate to control back pressure not holes in the butterfly valve. also i was told by my mechanic that on the ones that mount on the down pipe,they constrict your exhaust down to 3 -3 1/2 inches.

 

[SnoKing]

i have the us gear super duty de cellerator and really like it. its a 4 inch in line

that mounts between the cat and muffler. it has a waste gate to control back pressure not holes in the butterfly valve. also i was told by my mechanic that on the ones that mount on the down pipe,they constrict your exhaust down to 3 -3 1/2 inches.

Banks makes a 4" Turbo mounted Brake. SNOKING

 

[mattk50]

yea but what i was told is that the inside diameter of the brake is only 3 to

3 1/2 inches.

 

[2-ND TIME]

Exhaust brake

I got a pac-brake because the connections were threaded and I use low pressure hyd hose. The guy silver soldered a fitting to go on to the vacuum pump so used hyd hose there as well, got a cap, for if I need to cap it at some time. This eliminates the need to replace them every ??? three years. Use relay ,fuses and switches and it makes turning on and off easy. There is also a down elbow for these years so it is just a drop in and coppper cote the pipe threads it lasts longer than neverseize.

 

[SnoKing]

yea but what i was told is that the inside diameter of the brake is only 3 to

3 1/2 inches.

Banks has both a 3. 5 inch and 4" Turbo mounted brake. SNOKING

 

[MRiley]

I've seen the US gear unit. Is there any other manufacturer out there with a 4in inline? And does anybody have any experience with them.

 

[24VChev]

I would get a 4" BD air activated brake and put it inline in your exhaust system. The air activated brake comes with a 120 psi compressor. I have wired up this system with an air tank and then use the one compressor to operate the brake and inflate air bags. It can also fill up a tire, slowly but it works okay.



I like the air operated brakes, they apply faster. The part that may be tricky is welding in the flange under the truck. You do need to check the brake pressure once the system is installed. You want to make sure that the brake back pressure is set correctly to advoid damage to your engine.



Malcolm

 

[darkhorse]

The Banks Brake is an excellent unit. It flows very well & stops with the best of them. As others have noted, however, it only works with the HX 35 turbine outlet. If you contemplate going with a larger turbo in the future, go with an inline style, otherwise the Banks Brake my well be the best choice.

 

[SnoKing]

I have the Banks brake because my stepson got me a deal on it. One thing to note about it, "it is really big and heavy" and well made. Bill at DTT hard one earlier on and said that you need to watch your manifold bolts, as the extra weight is ruff on them. I have not had any issue in over a year with that. I like the warm up feature and the fact that if you have it powered up, it comes on each time you start the truck to keep it freed up and working. Durning warm up it stays on until water is up to 140 degree's. NOW another little cold weather issue. I had it on and engine went into 3 cyclinder idle the other morning and almost died. High idle came back down. I did not let it repeat the high idle with the brake on. It would be best to not have 3 cyclinder and the brake, but high idle and 3 cyclinder are joined at the hip. SNOKING