Just installed a PacBrake kit on my '03 5.9L HO NV5600

[NIsaacs]

That was Hagen Hill, just one of a dozen grades down to the valley of the sun.

This is in Salt River, note the short run away ramp with a block wall, not sure I would take it

 

[BSeyler]

It’s been quite a few years since I was over that road. Sometimes, I look at Reed Flake’s VLOG. He’s posted a few hauling cattle and hay between Snowflake and the valley. The switchbacks are impressive. Reminds me of going on the Beartooth Highway. The OP should really be impressed when towing in the mountains.

 

[CharlesinGA]

As a retired Pacbrake distributor who has sold many of these units to TDR members I enjoyed your comments.

I would only like to add..... after a couple of hundred of miles, and the truck is settling in a cooled down position... go back and tighten the Clamps that connect the exhaust brake housing to the turbo, and the exhaust pipe connection to the Brake Housing.

For best operation, any leaks on these two claims will result in some lack of performance. On units we installed, we always asked the customer to return for an inspection and in almost every case we were able to tighten each clamp up. Once Checked we found this good for the life of the system.... thanks for choosing Pacbrake and thank you to all of you who supported me through the years...

Jim

I had actually rechecked them after having driven a hundred miles or so, but today (Thanksgiving) I again jacked the front end and rechecked them as I made a trip to the GSMNP that was a little over 500 miles round trip. The clamp on the turbo is an inverted U channel clamp and it seems to get very tight very quickly. It was still tight. The V band clamp on the exhaust downpipe took up a turn or so. Its a regular V band clamp like I'm used to dealing with on airliner engine bleed air ducts and the like.

The compressor mount plate bolts were all tight.

One thing I don't think I mentioned, is that to get room to get the exhaust elbow out, and to work the PacBrake in, I ended up removing the two bellhousing bolts that hold the exhaust downpipe hanger bracket. Not only did the exhaust pipe drop down out of the way, it slid back on the hangar pins. I ended up using a ratchet strap around the back of the muffler to the transmission crossmember to pull the exhaust forward once I had put the hangar on the bellhousing back in place. This allowed me to start the clamps and work on the alignment of the brake valve to the turbo and downpipe.

The bolt torque for the bellhousing bolts is hidden in the text of the shop manual in the clutch replacement section. 35 lb/ft, and I rechecked that too today.

Charles