Exhaust Brakes - Which is the best survey

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Shortshift, I don't have any EGT gauges yet, so I periodically check my temps with an infrared heat gun. Last month I was traveling South between Chalice & Arco, Idaho. I started up a long (3-4 miles) grade of about 7% or so and left the Cruise engaged at 65, since there wasn't anyone in sight further up the pass.

Just for G. P. , I stopped at the top, popped the hood, and checked things out. Both the manifold and the turbo read 514 degrees with the gun. I was running empty. This is my "road car" while on vacations, so it doesn't get worked real hard.

I have a Jacobs E-Brake. Works great.

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98. 5 ISB CC, 5 spd.
3. 55 LSD
Jacobs E-Brake

 

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You guys with the brakes should know this. With either the BD or the Jacobs, could you change from OEM size exhaust pipe to a larger pipe with the same brake? Or do you have to replace the exhaust brake as well? That's something you guys have touched on but not clarified, at least to me.

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Y2K 2500 Cummins ETC/DEE, SLT+, 4X4, Quad, LB, Intense Blue Sport, 3. 54 anti-spin, rear aux. springs (camper special), sliding rear window, all options except cab clearance lights including agate leather, totally stock, + a mpg increaser goodie

 

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OK, THATS IT!. Now you guys Have Done IT!. With all this talk about Exhaust Brakes. I have the Brake Bomb Bug. (Say that 3 times real fast)now. I have Ridden in a BD Braked Rig with the pressure lock. The owner is getting the Auto Lock next. I liked the Braking effect the BD unit had at high speeds.
Doug

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1998. 5,2500,ISB,Auto,CC,4x4,White Sport,275hp Injectors,240hp to the Ground,16x8 Eagles,295 BFG's,2. 5" Skyjacker Lift,Stockland Seibring Shell.

 

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I installed the E-brake. Very clean installation and simple to install. My reasons for choosing Jacobs:
1. Designed in cooperation with Cummins
2. No warranty issues

As you've no doubt noticed by now from the postings, be certain to install one of the highly recommended units. You will not regret it!



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'01 3500 QC SLT, 5-spd. , 3. 54 LSD, Tow Pkg, Camper Pkg, White w/ Camel. (St. Louis) - Mud flaps, diamond plate,
Jacobs E-brake, Gauge Works dual gauge pod, ISSPRO EGT & Boost Gauges. Cobra 75WXST & Firestik - - - Towing a 2000 Cedar Creek 30'camper. NRA Member & Proud of it!!!!

 

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Gyro,
I probably caused some confusion as I was referring to the US Gear D-Celerator brake as the E-brake. I made edits.
The US Gear (D-brake) is the only one that goes in the exhaust. It comes in 3" or 4" models. Lawrence at DD installed both the 4" exhaust and D-brake for me at a very nice price.
John says they suck and everyone they ever sold has been replaced but then I don't hear a lot of complaints on this board. Camping World also recommends this brake and and the guys at the Henderson Nevada store say they have never had a return. They are a little more expensive than the rest and maybe this is why no one is touting them. So far mine works excellent.
Ron

 

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I have been thinking about installing an E-Brake and find the discussion about the various makes quite informative. However, the question that I have is - if I am driving a vehicle with an e-brake that has been activated and have set the cruise control what happens say when I am going down hill? Without an e-brake the truck basically maintains the speed set by the cruise control. With the e-brake activated on the truck and the cruise control set while going down hill will the e-brake overide the cruise or will the cruise control over-ride the e-brake? Can some one give me an explanation?

 

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Wait a minute Ron, I didn't say the US Gear D-Celerator exhaust brakes suck, I said all the people I had talked to informed me they experienced problems and subsequently replaced them with other brakes. In the beginning I was VERY interested in the D-celerator after reading their product literature so I did some investigating on my own. What I turned up was enough to sway ME in a different direction. I purchased a BD exhaust brake which isn't that much cheaper than what I could have purchased a D-Celerator from Camping World for, using my P. C. discount. Scott is the acid test. He just recently installed one on GW. With the miles he stacks up on his Ram he should be able to prove whether the D-Celerator has been improved, thereby proving reliable... or not. I'm sure he will let us know one way or the other.

Let the force of the exhaust brake Gods be with you Scotty. #ad

 

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JyRO, to answer your question, yes, any of the turbo mounted exhaust brakes will work with the OE 3" or any of the aftermarket 4" exhaust systems without any change of exhaust system components. If however, you elect to go with the HX40 "Super Turbo" you will no longer be able to use a turbo mounted exhaust brake. You will only have two options, the US Gear D-Celerator and the BD remote mount exhaust brake.

 

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Hey Al,

You posed a great question, one I bet somebody in the know here will be able to answer. Me not having one I don't know at all #ad
, but this is my guess. You guys that come along later, let me know how wrong I am. #ad


I'd bet (unloaded) that the exhaust brake works when the accelerator is fully released only. So on most downhill grades the cruise control probably won't let all the way off the pedal (that is unloaded). In that case it will not trigger the brake. But if the hill is steep enough that the cruise control fully lets off the throttle, it would come on. At just the right grade, I bet it would cycle from the brake to the cruise control accelerating to the brake again and so on. In that case, you should be able to simply turn the brake system off.

Does that sound about right, thow mightest knowlegdable exhaust brake gurus? #ad
#ad
#ad


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Y2K 2500 Cummins ETC/DEE, SLT+, 4X4, Quad, LB, Intense Blue Sport, 3. 54 anti-spin, rear aux. springs (camper special), sliding rear window, all options except cab clearance lights including agate leather, totally stock, + a mpg increaser goodie

 

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Al,

The Jacobs E-brake works just fine with the cruise control set on my model year 2000 5-speed. The E-brake is activated by a 12 volt signal from pin 20 of the ECM - after the engine has been in an unfueled condition for two or three seconds. Unloaded, the brake is occasionally actuated on some of the downhill stretches that I travel.
The combination of exhaust brake and cruise control tend to keep the truck at a reasonably steady speed both up and downhill. I imagine that the delay imposed by the ECM in activating the brake eliminates the possibility of a throttle-brake oscillation.
My best add on.

 

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Al, the PacBrake does not work with the cruise control on. On a downhill run, you use the brake to maintain speed anyway, not the cruise control. The problem is sometimes the ECM gives the truck a little throttle so the brake is deactivated. Just turn the cruise off going down hill and turn it back on when you level out.

John, I may be mistaken but I think PacBrake has a direct mount 4" brake that would work with the HX-40. The problem is space behind the turbo with the full 4" pipe.

 

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Today I was talking with the loader operator while his machine was being fuel and we got to talking about my truck. He said that a few weeks ago he saw an older ram (square nose) with twin stacks comming up through the bed. It was also equiped with a Jacobs C brake. Yes a real Jake brake on a ram. He said when it came up to the light he heard it slowing in the first stage then the second stage. must've sounded awsome coming from a pick up truck.

I always thought that they wouldn't fit under the hood of our trucks. I've never taken the time to look at one up close so I don't really know.

Figures 4 days after I installed my DB brake I hear about this. although with the Scotty Air the BD brake sounds like a real Jake brake from the front and hisses from the rear. Sounds cool in the cab

 

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Just installed the Jacobs brake on my ram and I'm very happy with it. The install was almost a pleasure, everything is pre cut, pre assembled, plugs in and fits! #ad
The only hard part was getting the cigar lighter out to tap the plug for power. I had heard that the jacobs didn't have the low end braking power of the BD but mine feels like it has more. My old BD was the 40# version so that may be why, it would shut off above about 2400 RPM, the Jacobs will go to 3100.




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2001 black dually,4x4, 6 speed H. O. ,loaded up. Lighted running boards, toolbox, solor visor, mag hytec cover, rhino lined, diamond tread rail protectors, mud flaps with genos chrome plates, megs exhaust tip, VDO vision series pillar mounted pyro & boost gauges, rerouted blowby bottle, torklift class 5 double tube hitch. Rippin' through the gears with a smile on my face... no more auto for me!

 

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Does the BD Brake work off the same pin #20 in the ECM? Or is it just throttle pedal controlled? I've heard the BD doesn't have a delay like the Jacob's, is that true?

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Y2K 2500 Cummins ETC/DEE, SLT+, 4X4, Quad, LB, Intense Blue Sport, 3. 54 anti-spin, rear aux. springs (camper special), sliding rear window, all options except cab clearance lights including agate leather, totally stock, + a mpg increaser goodie

 

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The BD brake only has the micro switch and has no delay. So far I can't see the need for a delay. I guess using the #20 pin might make for a quicker installation but other than that it's not that big of a deal.

I think that the guy who said he had a Jacobs engine brake on his ram was full ot it. I checked on the jacobs website and if the FAQ section the say they don't make an engine brake for the ISB since the demand is low and the cost would be high.
Does any other company produce real engine brakes?
From the discription of how they work I get it would cost thousands of dollars.

The website also states that they don't produce exhaust brakes for the PSD. In fact they say since the engine doesn't have solid lifters Navstar says don't use an exhaust brake. Makes me wonder how fords are holding up for the people who have been using ebrakes.

 

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Al & JyRO:

My U. S. Gear D-Celerator brake literature says it's not meant to be used with the cruise control. The literature also says that the throttle switch is not meant to be used as an on-off switch, but rather as a safety override mechanism. That is, the driver should not arm the e-brake and let the on-off switching occur by virtue of the throttle position.

The throttle switch merely disengages (opens) the e-brake when the throttle is not fully closed.

That said, however, if you do arm the e-brake and control engagement with the throttle switch here's what will happen with the U. S. Gear D-Celerator unit. With the cruise control set at 60 mph, you start down a hill. It takes the cruise control a while before the throttle fully closes and the e-brake engages, let's say at 68 mph. The truck slows down.

As the speed approaches 60 mph, the cruise control starts to feed in a little throttle to maintain 60 mph. This disengages the e-brake, and the truck speeds back up to 68 mph where the throttle once again closes. The brake engages again, and the process is repeated.

I don't know how well the other units work, but a properly installed U. S. Gear De-Celerator will require a REALLY steep hill before it would not be able to slow the truck below the cruise control set speed. I don't turn the e-brake off under these circumstances, I turn off the cruise control.

Some other notes on the U. S. Gear De-Celerator units:
My first one was installed on my ‘95 automatic. DO NOT INSTALL ANY EXHAUST BRAKE ON A TRUCK WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WITHOUT FULLY UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF A LOCKED TORQUE CONVERTER DURING DECELERATION. Discuss this with your installer. If they can't tell you about the potential for overheating your transmission, they don't understand it. Buy somewhere else. You will need a torque converter lock-up switch.

I had two problems with that unit. First was a failure to operate caused by a ground wire that was too short when installed which lead to an intermittent open wire. The second problem was a failed pull coil relay (failed closed) which caused the brake to close and open on its own. Diagnosis was not easy until the entire system was explained to me by the mechanic.

I am in the process of switching that unit from my ‘95 truck to my Y2K six-speed. I have had two problems with this installation so far, and it's not done yet. First, I had a major leak from around the front clamp. This leak was large enough to prevent the e-brake from providing meaningful deceleration. I'm told that muffler cement is the way to go to fix this, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

The second problem with the new installation was an adjustment on the brake. You can adjust the length of the rod that closes the butterfly valve to ensure that the valve is fully closed. As long as I had the brake off, I decided to shorten that rod a bit. While attempting to turn the parts that had rusted together, the rod broke.

Rather than continue to put up with an older unit, I decided to take the advice of the guy who sold me the original one and trade this one in on a new unit for $400. The original sold for $900. I haven't yet received the replacement.

I have mixed feelings about U. S. Gear and their unit. Their support has been excellent, and when everything is correct the brake works really well, but I have had some problems that probably should not have come up. I guess you pay your money and you take your choice. All in all, I'd buy another U. S. Gear.


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2000 Quad Cab, 4x4, short bed, six-speed.
1995 Standard Cab, 4x4, long bed, automatic. (soon to be sold)