pac brake

[DPKetchum]

How much are folks paying for the Dodge factory exhaust brake?

 

[Fireman]

$1075.

Fireman

 

[Fred Swanson]

The PacBrake is less expensive, and is worth getting.

 

[gregdoerfler]

whats a pac brake going for?

 

[BillGotthelf]

Dealer cost is around $860. Most dealers around here will give it to you at cost installed to sell the truck. It took tech 5 hours to install mine. Whoops I got the Jacobs sorry.

 

[J.V.]

Pac-Brake

I had the Pac-Brake installed. It did not work near as well as my '99 E-Brake. I had it removed and my money returned. Had to hit max. RPM before it did anything.



I now have the BD and am very disappointed with it also as compared to what the Jacobs E-Brake did at low RPMs.



They all work at run-away RPMs but not much at 2000 RPM where I used it for stop and go driving pulling 16,000 RV.

 

[DieselpowerDude]

I had the BD brake on my 95 with the regular valve springs adjusted correctly to 15 psi back pressure at idlle and it worked excelllent at lower rpm. Is the jacobs that much better? I might have to get one for the 03 to see if that is really true.

 

[Fred Swanson]

Guys, any brake not setup properly will not work right. With any E-Brake, if it is adjusted properly, will do the job at hand. If your brake doesn't slow the load down unless you have it at redline, then it is not setup right.

Brakes are not overly complicated, they're fairly simplistic in design. Some designs have holes in the butterfly ,and some don't. More holes or bigger holes, less baking horsepower. The new PacBrake 4 inch inline I just installed has no holes, and out of the box, is not setup right, it has to be road tested and pressure tested to insure it is setup correctly, it has a tag on it that specifically tells you this. If you just install it without this step, you'll probably be disappointed.

Once adjusted, it will do what it is designed to do.

 

[jelag]

Fred is right... ...



All the direct mount brakes are pre-adjusted at the factory for max back pressure..... if your getting the back pressure the brake is working..... we see a lot of brakes where the customer doesn't go back and check the clamp on the turbo/exhaust brake connection... ... any leaks ahead of the brake means less braking energy... . Direct mount brakes are pre adjusted because they fit only one engine. .



There is a physics formula here... ... any given brake getting the same back pressure will give you the same results on the same truck... ... The gentlemen above who returned his... ... I'm guess fits into the area of not testing and solving the problem.....



All in line brakes like Fred purchased are not preset... . why..... because those brakes can fit any engine that has a 4" or 5" or 6" exhaust based on the model you purchase... ... so those brake have to be set with a test gauge at installation to get full performance out of them... ... .



I'm guessing that Fred has turned up the HP on his truck and / or changed the turbo and needed the in line brake instead of the direct mount.....



Jim / Spokane WA

 

[DBVZ]

Has the 48re been approved yet, for use with an e-brake? I know a lot of people are doing it, but has DC said OK for warranty issues?

 

[jelag]

The last word from Carlton w/DC Cummins is that the decision has not been made on the 48re yet.....



He did promise a post in the form of a new thread when information was available... ...



I think Carlton is as excited as the rest of us to hear about the 48re however we need offical word... ... and he's waiting on that... .



Jim / Spokane WA

 

[Car_nut57]

We have installed many PacBrakes and they do install nicely and work very well now that they integrate with the PCM. The PacBrake is resonably priced and does offer a couple of features which are really nice. The new switch for the gear shift on the 6-speed is a rocker which won't rattle like some of the older style push/pull switches. PackBrake also offers an optional switch for the clutch pedal so the brake will not engage on up shifts when the brake is turned on. Also new is a small air tank which can be used for air horns or even blowing up a tire, but also shortens brake engage time.

 

[Fred Swanson]

And today I installed an inline 4 inch on Greg Boardman's truck with the 5 speed and the shaft diameter is smaller than the 6 speed. It was believed that both were the same on the 03's.



So if you go with the remote shifter switch, make sure to measure it first, to make sure you get one that fits right. The new rocker switch is easy to use, too.

 

[Car_nut57]

Originally posted by Fred Swanson

And today I installed an inline 4 inch on Greg Boardman's truck with the 5 speed and the shaft diameter is smaller than the 6 speed. It was believed that both were the same on the 03's.



So if you go with the remote shifter switch, make sure to measure it first, to make sure you get one that fits right. The new rocker switch is easy to use, too.

We have had a couple of 6-speeds that the new PacBrake switch would not tighten up on as well. We ended up using a wrap of tape to make the shifter large enough or milled off just a little of the swith holder to allow it to tighten.

 

[Blair]

The BD brake for the 03 is air acutuated and the regulator can be adjusted easily for better hold back. Mine currently holds 45 PSI at 1700 RPM and goes up from there, I'd say it is as good or better than my 00.





FYI

The way pac has located the the butterfly in the casting it directs the exhaust flow towards the side of the casting.

 

[J.V.]

BD Brake again

I called BD and asked just what I had to do to make the brake work. The tech I got said to just turn up the regulater to 65 lbs. I had already checked it and it was set about 58 lbs which I had raised already. I went up to 70 lbs and seems to be working better, but still not near as good as the '99 E-Brake with the same 16000 lb 5er.



I have a gauge inside showing exhaust pressure. I have seen no more than 40 lbs at 2500 RPM. Really do not know about going above 70 lbs on the regulated air pressure.



There is no exhaust leaks on the BD or the PacBrake I pulled off. There is no adjustments at all on the PacBrake and has a hole drilled in the butterfly. The shop owner at the Cummins shop that installed both of the brakes could find nothing wrong with the PacBrake and no adjustments to check.



Thanks for the information



J. V.

 

[jelag]

JV



I pull a 22 K lb service trailer with my 01... ... I have no problem keeping it under control on a 6% downgrade when I'm in the proper gear... ... That being said I never tested a customers truck past about 50 -55 lbs of back pressure..... I just don't have the nerve to abuse a brand new truck... ...



PacBrake tells me that its ok to go to 60 and on some trucks you can go as high as 65 however when the brake is working correctly those pressures aren't needed... ...



All direct mount PacBrakes are factory tested and preset... ... thats because they are designed to work with one engine... .



I don't know if your driving an AT... . but to get those pressures with an AT you'll have to install a kit to lock the pressure in the torque converter... ... .



Its a simple matter to test the PacBrake for function..... a test gauge and a road test..... It's a very straight forward design... . If you still had it installed we'd be happy to talk you through the testing process... ... I'm sorry you've pulled yours off.....



However after having the PacBrake and now the BD with the same problems you'd have to conclude that its either a truck or installer problem... ...



Just my 2 cents worth...



Jim / Pacific Clutch & Brake

 

[Blair]

J. V.



The pressure to be really concerned with is the back pressure yuo are holding in the engine. Crank the regulator until you get around 50-60 PSI of exhaust back pressure at peak RPM. You want to make sure it doesn't spike past 60 PSI when you down shift thats why youneed to check it at peak.