2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Pac Brake Problems

[WPeschel]

The brake works properly... I just want more stopping power... My buddys 08 with oem jake brake will dam near put you into the dash...

 

[K.L.Schumacher]

pacbrake

I have a B D brake that has been on my truck for going on 8 years . I picked it up from an autowrecker used and without the solonoid or electricals. I made up my own harness and used industrial quality sealed microswitchs and solonoid . I have had no problems with any of it other than a broken circlip on the shaft inside the vacumn cylinder about 5 years ago. The B D brake vacumn cylinder that i have comes apart very easily to clean it. As to the newer one's i do'nt know if they still do. as to my solonoid i put filters into the unused ports to keep the insides clean. I just recently checked my front brakes and the chamfer is still very visible. I have raybestos severe duty pads on the front and they have been on my truck for close to 4 years. They show no visable wear at this timedue to that i use my exaust brake all the time.

Dodgeboykim







96 3500 4x4 mildly modified.

 

[BeefDoc]

Pacbrake sticking on in cold weather

I installed a new pacbrake 2 months ago and until this last cold snap (10 F), it worked pretty well. I have an auto trans with the torque converter lock up kit as well. The past few days the brake has been sticking on very regularly. One day the warm up feature had the truck warmed up to 200 degress before it kicked off. Today it stuck on everytime I started the truck. Finally I took the fuse out of the main power supply to disable the system. I have tried to push the accuator back but I could not move it. So I crawled under the truck and tapped on the solenoid with a plier and the brake released. So I assume the problem is in the solenoid. I am sure there is water in the air system and it is freezing and making the solenoid stick. Does anyone have any suggestions to fix this problem?? Can I put some methanol in the system to dry out the water? I was afraid of this problem when I bought the kit, but was assured by most that it would work fine in cold weather, so I am curious why mine is causing problems. I was using the brake all of the time, and have check for leaks in the air system that could cause the compressor to run too much and cause excess moisture in the system. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Matt

 

[K.L.Schumacher]

I am assuming that by your thread that your pacbrake is using an air compressor to operate the pac brake. If that is so then you will have water problems at some point . If your system has an air tank then it is important to drain it and you could also try adding a air/water seperater to control the moisture. You also saed that your solonoid was down low and this may also be contributing to moisture from the exaust ports maybe pulling in contamination from under the truck. Hope this helps. dodgeboykim

 

[Breed]

I had a problem with my Pac Brake solenoid, it was getting power but it wouldn't work. I had the truck in a shop and they cleaned the engine and got water in the solenoid. I called Pac Brake and they advised about the water and e mailed directions to clean the solenoid. I spoke to Howard McLean and the people at Pac Brake were great in helping me trouble shooting the Pac Brake. I just pulled out one O ring and cleaned it and the brake worked fine since.

 

[Pacbrake]

For air operated units you will want to drain the water out of the system once in a while. With that being said for the fellow with the solenoid mounted under the vehicle check the exhaust port on the solenoid, ensure it is pointing to the ground and not getting packed with road spray and dirt. If it is ok your can relocate the solenoid closer to the engine compartment to ensure it won't freeze up during the extreme colder temperatures.

 

[jelag]

Lets go back to the vacuum operated brake... . Pacbrake Harold should have caught this and talked about it..... you need 25" of vacuum for this brake to function correctly... . I've owned several Fords, and Dodges in the past and if the vac pump gets weak than its common for a problem to exist... .

You might see this in the cab with the vents moving slowly from the dash to defrost when using the heater/AC... or the pedal pressure on the brakes increase with low vacuum as well...

Pull a vacuum line and install a gauge in the system... you need to see close to 25" and if you have less than 20" your going to have problems... .

We used to get into the habit of dropping a few drops of engine oil (teaspoon or so) into the vacuum line and letting it pump through the pump (2 times a year) to keep the pump in good condition...

When a customer brings us a truck, we test the vacuum first... without good vacuum the rest of the tests are a waste of time...

 

[KKohagen]

Jelag, does the condition you describe, low vacuum, allow the brake to close when the reset button is pushed? Or will low vacuum make it close only partially?
My Pacbrake just started to not work a month or so ago, guessing it is the relay, ECM pigtail connection? I think this because my wipers went out at the same time the brake started not working. The Pacbrake had the switch power tied into the orange wire with black tracing under the steering wheel, per the installation instructions.
I have switched the source of power (to the brake), lubed up the brake with the Pacbrake lube, when the reset button is pressed the brake closes and gives the familiar sound and the brake does fully close. I also suspect the ECM pigtail may need to replaced as you have suggested in a previous thread.
I am thinking I will replace the relays tonight and check for proper vacuum levels tomorrow. I will also take off the solenoid and clean it out as well. Any advice? I have read a lot of the other related threads and thought I would put my 2 cents in.

 

[KKohagen]

I cleaned all of the grounds, replaced the relay, cleaned the solenoid, and reinserted the ECM pigtail. I think this was my problem. The brake is working again for the time being. If it stops working again I will get another pigtail for the ECM and install. Thanks everyone for the ideas given.

I know at work, oil refinery, that we use many drains, filters and coalescers to dry out the air we use. Especially air used for instrumentation purposes. I would drain the tank install a manual drain valve, maybe like the oil Fujimoto valve, and then dry out the system. Install a type of knockout /filter and maybe that will help keep the moisture lower than no filter. Compressing outside air will always add some moisture from the surrounding air. The moisture adds up and eventually starts to collect in large dropos enough to travel within the system and then lower the temp and ice forms in places it is not wanted. I think this may be what is causing it.

 

[SnoKing]

Well about 4k miles with no issues so far... I was wondering if there is a way to make it work better?? I noticed that I do not have the HD exhaust springs which I will be installing in the next couple weeks. . I remember the butterfly in the pac brake had two holes in it for the air to come through one of the holes had a bolt in it can i put another bolt in the other hole or is it not designed for that??? I drove my buddys 08 dodge with oem brake and that thing will almost put you into the dash... .

I thought all of the trucks after the first gen's had the HD exhaust springs. If someone it trying to sell you exhaust springs for a 2003 HO I would be suspect! I know that all 24V 2nd gens have the HD springs.







SNOKING

 

[jelag]

All vacuum style PacBrakes use a cylinder that needs vacuum to both apply and release the brake... .

If your having problems check the vacuum first... . We usually pull the hose to the vac brake booster, give it a shot of oil and install a gauge... if the vacuum is low, we use a pair of pliers designed to pinch off hose... . we pinch off each hose and see if there is an improvement(watch the gauge).....

On some vehicles the vacuum operated doors under the dash will give you problems... .

We've also seen dirt in the solenoid, and have taken them apart and cleaned them... if they come back a second time we replace them... .

When we install a brake we pull the plug to the ECM and watch the pins snap into the cavity of the plug... . our biggest problem with self installed brakes is the pins in the cavity not making good contact... we also will apply some dielectric grease before assembly...

PacBrake says that you don't need to remove the plug from the ECM but this extra step really saves time in the long run...

Relays either work or don't... . I can't remember when I've tested a relay and had a large voltage drop across one that closed. . in most cases relays we use on PacBrake are rated at 30 amps and there is never more than 15-20 amps in the circuit except for when the air style compressor starts... .

Hope this helps...

 

[KKohagen]

Thanks again. When I installed my PacBrake I followed your advice and pulled the ECM plug before the pigtail installation. My pigtail had come out slightly. Thanks again for the brake and the help.