pacbrake

[JohnnyH]

I'm considering getting a pacbrake for my truck from one of the TDR members. I asked about the aux. tank, and he said it is good only for small bike tires and such. Since that does nothing for me, are there any other benefits to having the auxillary tank, as far as the brake operation is concerned.



Also, if I did get the tank, what type of fitting comes with it. Is it like a quick connect fitting to attach an air chuck.



Thanks,

John

 

[gpeddicord]

The tank will turn your brake on quicker. Especially if you use brake a lot in stop and go traffic. Ihave a 8 gallon tank on mine I bought from the local freightliner dealer. It allows me to use brake, air horns and air tools if necess. IMHO the pacbrake tank is a waste of money. I think it is only 1 gallon, and costs about $45.

 

[gpeddicord]

Also you need to purchase your own fittings for quick disconnect as it only comes with a plug for the aux. port on the tank. My large tank fit under the pass. side frame rail nicely.

 

[SRadke]

I had a tank installed with mine originally. It may have been able to get me out of a jam but the Pacbrake compressor is so small it realistically is of little use for such things as car tires. I've since changed my whole program to a bigger compressor for other reasons and have eliminated the Pacbrake compressor altogether.



-Scott

 

[Gypsyman]

Scott, are you running yours off of the Kelderman tank?

 

[GBechtold]

I have a Pacbrake and it is vacum controlled what do they also make an air controlled one also ? Or can I convert mine over to Air seeings that I already have air ride?

 

[SRadke]

Scott, are you running yours off of the Kelderman tank?

More or less, yes. I've actually added a second tank and done some other plumbing but yes, they use the same air source. The solenoid to do the job was less than $40 and a 4" inline brake can be had for around $450 new.



-Scott

 

[Gypsyman]

That's my overall plan. When the twins go in I'll be installing a new style of 5" inline Pac that Piers is testing. How does the Pac interact with the ECM? Do you have the 2 second delay for shifts, disengage with throttle application, and warm up feature like the Jacobs?



Richard

 

[Fred Swanson]

The delay is minimal with a tank. It disengages very quickly, so you can even shift without the clutch, and the warm up feature is from what I can tell on certain year models. Once the truck reaches a certain temp, it will kick off even while idling sitting still. Mine stays on, and does not kick off even when warmed up.



Yeah, I have one of those new 5 inch Pac's coming my way, via Piers.

 

[gpeddicord]

GB - The newer trucks don't have any provision for vacuum like the old ones did. The newer ones brakes are hydro-boost type (I think). Pac brake just includes a compressor rather than a vacuum pump because of costs and provision for aux. air. I don't think there would be any use to converting to a air operated pacbrake. If you want an air source, just add a tank and compressor. Also the newer brakes prob. would not fit since the turbo is in different location.

 

[SRadke]

Fred is right, the delay through the ECM is virtually nothing. It does disengage with throttle application but will not delay for shifts. I have mine on a foot pedal and rarely leave the master switch on all the time. Warm up feature means turn it on, this will work on any truck. You're truck may or may not turn off automatically after it has warmed up, depends on the year. Mine does not.



-Scott

 

[Gypsyman]

I talked to Piers a little about this and I think we'll just use the controls and connections to the existing Jacobs to activate the Pac. That should preserve the functions that I'm use to. Thanks for the heads up gentlemen.



Richard

 

[GBechtold]

GB - The newer trucks don't have any provision for vacuum like the old ones did. The newer ones brakes are hydro-boost type (I think). Pac brake just includes a compressor rather than a vacuum pump because of costs and provision for aux. air. I don't think there would be any use to converting to a air operated pacbrake. If you want an air source, just add a tank and compressor. Also the newer brakes prob. would not fit since the turbo is in different location.

I didn't know if I could change out my vacuum cylinder for an air cylinder since I already have an on board compressor for my suspenion I was wondering if the rest of the components would work or not?



And I believe the newer trucks have vacuum pumps to run the heater controls and I think the cruise control I think.

 

[gpeddicord]

GB - I'm sure you could find an air cylinder to replace the vacuum cylinder. My guess is it would be the same stroke length, although it may be different because the bracket looks different. As for the truck having provision for vacuum from heater controls etc. I don't know, my factory service manual has been on backorder for quite some time now. I would guess it wouldnt have enough vacuum supply to activate anything other than heater controls and cruise. I have'nt had time to snoop around.

 

[SRadke]

I don't see how that would work. A vac cylinder pulls and an air cylinder pushes, it's all bass ackwards. You'd need an air cylinder that applied pressure to the stem side of the piston.



-Scott

 

[RAndrae]

Ecm Bypass

The last 6 Pac brakes I have installed on 04 1/2's I used the ecm bypass kit instead of the air tank. You cant use both though because you need a delay for the fuel rail to clear. On the 05's Dodge now puts the APP on the petel assembly under the dash and Pac has no Ecm bypas available yet. There is a noticable delay when using the ECM for a signal. Use th ebypass kit... . IMO

 

[JohnnyH]

The last 6 Pac brakes I have installed on 04 1/2's I used the ecm bypass kit instead of the air tank. You cant use both though because you need a delay for the fuel rail to clear. On the 05's Dodge now puts the APP on the petel assembly under the dash and Pac has no Ecm bypas available yet. There is a noticable delay when using the ECM for a signal. Use th ebypass kit... . IMO

I thought the bypass kit was only for automatics. I've got the 6-speed. I'm starting to get confused. Can I buy a larger tank from a truck parts place, and use it in conjunction with the pacbrake. Will the pacbrake compressor be big enough to fill a larger tank? I'd love something that I can air up my tires with.



Thanks, John

 

[RAndrae]

ecm bypass

all trucks have an ECM. when no bypass is used the pac brake gets its signal at closed throttle from the ECM. The compressor supplied with the Pac brake system is a nice unit but as far as filling a large tank I think it would tax its ability.

 

[Black-Smoker]

Does anyone sell a exhaust break that is just manually operated by a switch on the shifter. I would like a 4" inline.