Still foolin' with this Jake

[MacHaggis]

I'm about on the verge of usin' colorful language. #@$%!



First Cummins shorted the gasket between the turbo and the brake. Tech put it together with my blessing. It only hisses when the brake is closed.



I get the gasket. Pull the clamp. Slip the gasket in. Replace clamp. Hisses worse than ever. There's blowby around the clamp, on top and toward the crankcase. Leave hood up to remind me to take car in the morning and leave Ram in the garage.



Get new gasket, new V-clamp for turbo-brake joint. Mopar # 5159965AA clamp seems to be the same as the original. Work real hard to get flush fits on both ends of the brake and tighten down. Start. Pull button. Hissss. And in a short time, a whistle. Now I know the difference between a hiss and a whistle but I'm convinced it's not a whoosh. (These are sounds to listen for,as listed in Jacobs' instructions! Whoosh is fine, whistle indicates leak. Technical stuff, dontchya know. )



Loosen things up (now wearing heavy gloves) do some more adjusting, tighten up, and I'm back to a hiss when engaged, not as noisy as before and only on the crankcase side. Not a problem if I don't engage the Jake, but still not right, and I've got to pass emissions sometime in the next six weeks and I don't think the the leak would pass. Besides all that, it ought to work, dammit.



Visually, it looks as if the V in the clamp is not wide enough to take a bite on both flanges (turbo and brake). I can't get it to run symetrically around the joint. KCLaber gave me an alternate part number the other night, 52121285AA, that is listed as a clamp for the same joint. Does anybody know if that clamp has a wider V?



Or any other good ideas? Tricks?

 

[Scrappy]

is the clamp sittin on top(outside diameter of the flange)? it should be on the taper, if it is tighten it as much as you can. then run the truck to get it hot and try to tighten it some more. why do you need a gasket at all, the factory elbow doesn't use one. if it has to have a gasket they might have given you the wrong clamp.

 

[MacHaggis]

I can get the clamp to bite at the gap where I can see it, and I've got a good flush fit all the way around between the turbo and the Jake, but I can't seem to get the clamp to go straight around the whole joint.



The gasket is unique to the Jake setup. Stock exhaust uses a dry joint and the clamp alone is adequate to keep things closed up tight, but there was a problem with leaking around the clamp with the backpressure of the Jake. The gasket isn't much more than a wafer, but it's just thick enough and I'm pretty well persuaded that it's at the heart of my problem.



I did a search and posted, too, and found a couple of good threads on DC holding back the Jake while they ironed out the problem, but the thread that referred to a new clamp for the Jake app to replace the original didn't have part number. If I recall correctly, it said that the replacement clamp was a non-reusable type. Suggests a different design from the stock that might eliminate the gap of the t-bolt and seal 360. Perhaps a wider V to accommodate the gasket (one can hope!)



I'm going to order the alternate clamp to see if it holds any more promise.



Meantime, if I need the truck, I can run it without the Jake and feel OK. But, I say again . . . It should work, dammit!

 

[MacHaggis]

May have a handle on it now

Went by the dealer this ayem to pick up the alternate clamp listed. Wrong! way too big a diameter.



I noticed that the gasket they got me was listed for 04. 5s and up, and Jacobs had a different number for the 03s and 04s. Tried that, but the number updated to the 04. 5 number.



THEN the counter guy notices something called a "Service Repair Tip". Therein was the elusive part number for the non-reusable replacement clamp for the 03s. For anybody sharing my problem, that number is 52103596AC.



I'm REALLY hoping this does the trick, cuz I'm REALLY tired of messin' with this.



I did a little Googlin' and could find several listings of TSBs but none of these Service Repair Tips. (SRT, but then that could be something wlse, couldn't it? ) Anybody know of a site that has them?

 

[ENordstrom]

I seem to have a similar issue with my exhaust brake as well. It has always been somewhat loud with a whooshing sound but now I get a whistle at times as well as a slight clatter at idle. I believe it is the butterfly valve, and that it is loose on the shaft. The whistling could be the gasket issue you are fighting. It is intermittant but happens often enough to know something is wrong. Unfortunately I am on a cross-country trip and unable to find a knowledgable person at either Cummins or dodge dealerships.

I would be interested to find out how your repair works out.

 

[SRadke]

My Pac never leaked..... and it didn't use a gasket.



-Scott

 

[MacHaggis]

Okay -- done foolin'

No small amount of swearin', but it doesn't leak anymore. Picked up the clamp with the "secret" part number this noon. It is enough wider and the arch in the V is enough higher than the original that it was a bit of a pain in the neck to get it on. The actuator and bracket interfered, but the clamp is articulated and if you run it around to just the right spot you can angle it into place on the flange on the brake side. Insert gasket, fiddle with alignment between turbo and exhaust pipe and voila!



Torque specs in the instructions for the clamp nut seemed a little light so I didn't go to hard on it for starters. Started up, pulled the button and the dreaded hiss was there. I had aligned the clamps so that I could access the nuts for both from the wheel well (with liners installed). Located the leak around the turbo joint with the brake. With Cummins running and Jake engaged, wound on the clamp nut until the noise stopped.



Made a run to the barley-pop store to heat things up and acquire refreshments fro the impending kickback celebration. Got home and was able to wind both clamps down a little more. I do note some hiss even with the Jake off, but it's all at the tailpipe.



So . . . the three tips I'd leave with anybody doing their own install. 1) Get Mopar # 52103596AC clamp for the turbo to brake joint. 2) Install it loosely on the brake body while it's still on the bench, i. e. before you lift it up into place on the truck. It's a lot easier to fiddle with it on the bench than up underneath. 3) Line up the clamps so you can get to the nuts easily.



Thanks, Scrappy, KCLaber and others for your help.



It's Foster's time!