Mopar e-brake on a 2006 48RE

[Sam973]

I had my dealer put the mopar e-brake on my 2006 truck with 48re trans and I'm not sure if its working properly. It takes about 5 seconds to engage when I pull the lever and it only works in second and third gear. It will come on in third gear down shift to second then turn off when the truck gets to first. I was hoping it would stay engaged in first so the e-brake would get the truck down to a crawl. Is this working properly? What are others with this setup experiencing?

 

[Reb.B]

the brake turns off at 22 mph. it takes time for the brake to come on as its under vacuum instead of pressure.

 

[AMink]

I should work in all gears, down to 22-25 mph. In first, it will work in little spurts. It takes a second to engage because it is designed for both autos and manuals. In a manual, it won't come on immediately when you let off the throttle, push in the clutch, shift, then back on the throttle. On the auto, it will downshift from OD to 3rd at about 40-45. It will stop providing back pressure during the downshift. If you're hanging right at that speed, it won't engage. Problem solved by locking out OD. I wish it would keep slowing below 22, but no dice. It also comes on when the engine is cold to assist warmup if you leave it pulled out. I figure if it works at idle, it should be able to be used clear down to a stop.

 

[BHolm]

On the auto trans it is set up to not function in first gear. To be effective, and not cook the transmission, the torque convertor must be locked. There is no provision for locking in first so 22 mph in second is about as low as it goes. It also works in fourth gear.



There is a slight delay, 5 seconds seems a little long but as mentioned it needs to build vacuum to move the flap.



I must say that I find the brake FAR more useful on the manual trans truck. I can use it in first, right down to a stop. Still, after having it in an auto truck in the mountains, I still would not want to be without it. It just wasn't as effective as I would have liked descending 25 mph mtn roads. If you dip below 22, you also have to get up above 30 again to get it to re-activate.

 

[AMink]

Just out of curiosity, how much power is used by the vacuum pump?

 

[troll3193]

Try using it with just leaving the switch on all the time and letting the computer decide when to apply the brake...

By applying it manually, you may be at a point between shifts where the TC cannot lock up or something...

I leave mine on all the time and it works very well. Only issue I see is at a certain speed about 40mpg when I have to tap the brakes to kick down to the next gear to get it to engage. .

Bryan

PS as stated before, the brake cannot engage in 1st gear on the auto as it is not possible to lockup the TC at that speed... It should work fine in OD, 3rd and 2nd...

 

[Sam973]

That answers all my questions. Thanks guys. Just wanted to see if it was working propperly. Sounds like it works the same as all of your trucks.

 

[SMasters]

Does anyone's belt squeal for a second when the brake dis-engages? Mine just started doing this. I have a 07 5. 9 with 48re.

 

[Sam973]

I haven't noticed that, but I do get an occasional squeal, more like a chirp, coming from a full wheal turn.

 

[ENafziger]

Does anyone's belt squeal for a second when the brake dis-engages? Mine just started doing this.

I started noticing some squealing from mine a few weeks ago. It got significantly worse while on the interstate headed out for a camping trip on Monday. Before I could pull over, blue smoke was rolling out from under the hood.



The bearings in the vacuum pump went out completely and locked up the pulley. The serpentine belt got so hot that it nearly started on fire, and it snapped. Shards of burning rubber were everywhere, and the grooves of the pulleys were filled with burnt rubber as well.



When the belt had snapped, it also broke the belt tensioner as well. The tensioner pulley flew through the front, cracking the fan shroud, and gouging the back of the radiator pretty badly.



The truck has 35k miles on it. If yours is squeaking, you may be in for a surprise shortly... --Eric