vacuum pump failing,, how long will it last

[Trizae]

first of all, I'm embarrased of my situation, 600 miles from home, no tools, no parts!



yesterday, I noticed an odd ticking sound while driving down an exit ramp. Upon investigation, i determined that the noise was coming from the exhaust brake vacuum pump.



I know these pumps do fail from time to time,,, I may just need to replace the diaphram or I may need a complete pump.



Should I be concerned about driving it 600 miles,,,, has anyone seen complete pump failure (explode, lockup)



for years I kept the orginial belt in the tool box for a spare,,, it will be back in there once i make it home!

 

[HBarlow]

I don't think anyone can answer your question. Your guess is as good as mine. My OEM vacuum pump failed on my '06 at around 65k miles. I really don't remember now but think the only symptom was the eb quit working. I was on the road working running 600+ miles each day at the time. I think I drove it until I got back home. It did not seize.

It possibly could seize but if your not hearing any rotational noises ie bearing or bushing related you may be able to get it home safely

 

[jhenderson]

Most likely the diaphragm failed. It will cause the sound you describe. The inner workings of the pump are a simple cam lobe bathed in oil. I have never seen that fail.

 

[ScottLewis]

When mine quit, it just quit. No warning, nothing. The brake just stopped working. I think it was the diaphragm but I just replaced the whole package with a PacBrake. I had the belt that was removed when the Jacobs was installed so I used it, bypassing the pump, until the Pac was sent to me for install.

 

[Trizae]

It is making a noise and it does change with engine speed,,,,, but there is rust dust around the center of the diaphragm,

The truck/brake/pump will trip over 90,000 tomorrow

 

[Blu-meanie]

Mine did a very loud squealing noise while towing on the Pacific Coast Highway around Jenner Ca. That road needs an exhaust brake. I had to change back to the original belt for the trip home. Check out rebuilds at NAPA, guaranteed for life and cheaper than just replacing the diaphram.

 

[jelag]

we had the same kind of pump on the Fords before they changed the design... the pump was a Delco design... we found that if we gave the pump a couple of tablespoons of oil every year... it would flush out the reed valves, and lubricate the moving parts above the diaphragm... when we checked the anti-freeze in the fall we'd pull the vacuum line off the power booster... give it a couple of tablespoons of oil and start the engine...

We'd get the oil out the air exhaust and it would make a bit of a mess... . but we found this would at least double the life of the pump... . you might try this and see if it helps to at least get the truck home... . we found that dirt on the vacuum side, drawn in from leaks... would foul the pump. .

 

[CKelley1]

like they say, most failures are the diaphragm. genosgarage.com a good source. when they do lock up it burns the serpentine belt into before you can shut it down. if you are lucky it will not tear the radiator, fan blade or both up. as ours fail we replace with bd's. you can reuse the switch and wires to the ecm. I can now change one out in a hour and the bd has more bhp than the jake at low rpm and altitude. try it, you will like it

 

[Trizae]

Truck made it home,,,, will take apart tomorrow, I assume just the diaphragm has failed. I'll probably replace the entire pump just to be on the safe side. I've very pleased with the Jacobs system so I don't plan on switching

 

[gapayne]

I just found this thread so I'm posting a bit after the fact, but I'll offer my experience. I bought my truck in May 2006 and my Jacobs exhaust brake was installed in August 2006 at 3300 miles. I use it extensively as I like the braking action and I like saving my service brakes, even when not towing. My exhaust vacuum pump failed on the way home from a long trip in the fall of 2011 at about 82,000 miles. There was a clicking noise which got worse and then quit. When it quit so did the exhaust brake. The pump failed, but did not seize, it simply continued to turn without pumping and did no other damage. I purchased a replacement pump from Genos and installed it. I purchased a Jacobs replacement as I continue to like the Jacobs.

Unfortunately I ignored one of my own rules about handling little problems before they become big problems. I waited several months to assemble the funds for the replacement pump and now the external control shaft for the internal vane (which blocks the exhaust) was binding due to rust, etc. At first it didn't move at all and we thought I would have to buy a entire new exhaust brake in addition to the pump I had already purchased. However after working the shaft for a while I got it to move about 1/4 inch which proved that the new pump was functional and that the diaphragm was good. From here liberal applications of a Mopar Rust Penetrant had it nearly free in a few hours and the Mopar penetrant plus a couple of auto parts rust penetrants along with judicious application of a ball peen hammer had it working normally in less than a week.

 

[nunya]

2nd failure of pump, this time only 29,000mi. !!! So what is the deal with these things?? Gonna have to do something different.

 

[jhenderson]

Failure at 29,000 would have me looking for a vacuum leak in the system which would overwork the pump. I have 327,000 miles and am on my 3rd pump.

 

[HBarlow]

Failure at 29,000 would have me looking for a vacuum leak in the system which would overwork the pump. I have 327,000 miles and am on my 3rd pump.

My first pump failed at about 60k miles. The replacement was still good at 230k when I sold the truck. I use the exhaust brake on every stop.

 

[nunya]

I have used the brake always since new,guess we will look for a leak when I get it fixed. I love drivin with the brake and really miss it, had my Lance on and just finished 5420 mile trip. Definetly a difference in braking. Thanks for the info, guess I will order from Genos.