exhaust brake

[MBurtch]

What exhaust brake do you recommend pulling 13,500 5th wheel? I have a 2003 HO.



Tried a search with no luck.

 

[HBarlow]

The two most common and popular brands are Jacobs and PacBrake. I owned an '01 HO six speed and an '06 48RE, both with Jacobs exhaust brakes. I was very pleased with the exhaust brake on both trucks. Some prefer the PacBrake and others use a BD.

 

[wcjp]

The two most common and popular brands are Jacobs and PacBrake. I owned an '01 HO six speed and an '06 48RE, both with Jacobs exhaust brakes. I was very pleased with the exhaust brake on both trucks. Some prefer the PacBrake and others use a BD.

I can't answer which is best. I've been happy with my Pacbrake.

 

[Barry]

I have always used BD Brakes.

Having been in your part of the country, the peace of mind that the exhaust brake will give is priceless. Not having to stop at the bottom of a mountain pass to let the brakes cool while you dig the upholstery out of your butt will save you a lot of time.

I use my E brake loaded or empty. Now have over 175,000 miles on the original truck brakes and still have over 60% brake pads left.

 

[NIsaacs]

I have two trucks with Pac brakes and one with the BD. The BD is by far the best as far as retarding goes, however in all fairness, the Pac's are the old style. I understand the new style retard really well.



Nick

 

[HBarlow]

The axle ratio and transmission gearing is a major factor in exhaust braking.

 

[NIsaacs]

The axle ratio and transmission gearing is a major factor in exhaust braking.

Only if you stay in high gear, once you start down shifting you can pretty much duplicate any rear axle ratio. The biggest factor is back pressure across the rpm band. Also engine size plays a part. My BD will show 45 psi back pressure at idle, the two Pac's barely move the gauge.



Nick

 

[AH64ID]

Both my dad and I have the Jacobs. . I have heard good things about the PXRB from Pac, as its a bit stronger than the Jacobs. .

I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

[Barry]

The higher the RPM, the greater the braking power.

 

[AH64ID]

Only if you stay in high gear, once you start down shifting you can pretty much duplicate any rear axle ratio. The biggest factor is back pressure across the rpm band. Also engine size plays a part. My BD will show 45 psi back pressure at idle, the two Pac's barely move the gauge.



Nick

If you show 45 at idle what do you show at redline?



The Jacobs shows 20 at idle and 58-63 at redline (depending on what the EGT's were when engauges). . It takes about 1700 rpms to hit 45 with the Jake.

 

[CKelley1]

the pac and the bd will give the same braking power. the jake is old technology and does not work as good and the vacuum pump failure rate is extreme, expensive and it will fail at the most inconvient time and place. when the pump locks up you can not drive the truck. with the jake you must carry a spare stock serpentine belt with you to remove the pump from the drive. i have a preference of the bd over the pac just because of where the compressor mounts on the bd. if you go with a pac i would relocate the compressor. the heat and vibration causes early failures. we have gone back and relocated all of ours

 

[CKelley1]

one other thing the only two good brake controllers on the market is maxbrake and smartbrake. do not look at any other brand or type. these two are the only proportional ones on the market.

 

[AH64ID]

the pac and the bd will give the same braking power. the jake is old technology and does not work as good

Sorry but they all have the same max retarding power. That is set by the maximum back pressure that the motor can take, 63-65psi. If any of the brakes have more max power than the Jake then they are exceeding the limits set by Cummins.



The variable orifice of the BD and PXRB does allow for more bottom end braking, but from about 2400-2500 (depending on EGT's at time of application) they are all the same.



The Jake works great, in fact I am happy that its not variable since its often too much braking at lower rpms any how. I don't like the brake cycling so much. If all I did was use the brake to slow down then I would say I want variable, but since I also use it to maintain speed on hills and back roads then I am quite happy its not variable.



The other issue is soot loading the oil, the Jake will have the lowest pressure at idle, and thus the least amount of exhaust will be blown into the oil with cold rings when the brake is used to warm the truck up. As it is soot loading with the Jake is noticeable, I would hate to see UOA from a BD or PXRB under the same conditions. I usually try to wait until the coolant is over 60* before turning the brake on.

 

[NIsaacs]

The only real way to compare back pressure v/s rpm is with a gauge, it's hard to understand how well it's working at what rpm without one.



Like others have said EGT's make a difference when first applied, also my BD seems to over open if I hit the switch at high rpm. If I let it build at low rpm to higher is seems to control the pressure better. It never goes over 60 psi at high rpm. At just above an idle it goes to 55 and holds there.



Both of my older Pac's have the relief orifice to max at 45 psi, both trucks have the standard valve springs. I did modify the one on the 91 to build at lower rpm but I can not let the engine get over 2100 or it will go over 45 psi.



I like the BD way more due to low rpm retarding. It is hard to maintain high rpm without going too fast. I rarely down shift unless the hill has bad corners or is really steep.



Nick

 

[AH64ID]

I too have noticed that if I am at about 2500+ rpms and turn the brake on it doesn't want to fully close, tap the clutch and all is well. Its very rare to engage above cruise rpms thou, then downshift form there.

 

[HBarlow]

I put 325,000 miles on an "01 HO/six speed and 230,000 miles on an '06/48RE. Each had Jacobs brakes from day one. I had one vacuum pump failure on the '06. The vacuum pump was cheap and readily available from a Cummins dealer. I never carried a spare belt.

I think some folks put far to much credibility on PacBrake and BD advertising. No exhaust brake, not even a tailpipe welded shut, it going to produce any more exhaust back pressure than a blocked exhaust generates at lower rpm. I don't know if PB or BD brakes produce more back pressure at higher rpm, or not, have never used one.

Cummins and Dodge selected the Jacobs exhaust brake as a factory option offered on '06 and '07 Dodge Rams with 48RE automatics. Prior to that, at least from '01 forward, Dodge dealers sold Jacobs exhaust brakes across the MOPAR parts counter and Dodge dealers would install them behind the six speed manual.

I was comfortable with Dodge's choices. As far as I know, Dodge never selected PacBrake or BD as their supplier.

 

[Grizzly]

I choose PacBrake for my truck after many months of research and am very happy with it. Since I've never had other brands, I can not vouch for them.



Thanks Jim (jelag)



george

 

[AH64ID]

I think some folks put far to much credibility on PacBrake and BD advertising. No exhaust brake, not even a tailpipe welded shut, it going to produce any more exhaust back pressure than a blocked exhaust generates at lower rpm. I don't know if PB or BD brakes produce more back pressure at higher rpm, or not, have never used one.

They can produce more backpressure at idle and lower rpms as they block the exhaust more. The Jake has a fixed orifice in it that regulates the redline backpressure to ~60psi. The BD and PXRB have a variable orifice that works off of backpressure, at pressures below 60 the orifice is completely closed, so they do block more air than the Jake. As the pressure reaches 60 the orifice opens and regulates to 60.



I am not sure at what rpm the BD and PXRB hit 60 psi, but the Jake does it at 2400-2500, so from that rpm up they are all equal.



This advertisement is the one to be wary of. If you have more braking power than the OEM brake you are over-pressurizing your truck!



I think they used the old non-variable BD... But still, since the BD, PXRB, Jake all limit the backpressure to the stock limits (in theory) the braking should all be identical.

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[THoltz]

I assume an exhaust brakes controls cause an automatic transmisson to keep the torque converter locked? How does it do this?



The reason I ask is I have a DTT transmission controller that will maintain my torque converter locked up, will these exhaust brakes mentioned in this thread work with my current controller?

 

[HBarlow]

If I understand your question the answer is no, the exhaust brake has no connection with the torque converter but your torque converter must remain locked under deceleration in order to use an exhaust brake. If not, the ATF is churned and overheated causing damage to the transmission.

If your DTT rebuilt automatic keeps the TC locked when decelerating you can install any brand exhausts brake you choose.