Exhaust Brake

[Jeff Heiser]

Has anyone had an exhaust brake installed? What do you think now that you have one as far as being worth the expense? Would you recommend one to other truck owners?

Thanks,
Jeff Heiser
Merritt Island Florida

[illapah]

I installed a Banks exhaust on my Dodge and am thouroughly satisfied. I would do it again.

[stiles watson]

Sort of like a left-handed monkey wrench. You only need it if you have a left-handed monkey. But when you do, it's the best thing going.

[tollmann]

The only time you really need an exhaust brake is in the mountains, or if you REALLY want to stop in a hurry. So far we have gotten by without one but it is our next big purchase.

[Montana_139]

Jeff,

I believe that it depends on the truck. If you have one of the newer Ford or GM products, they have a smart transmission with a Tow/Haul Mode. They automatically down shift when you brake going downhill. These probably do not need an exhaust brake.

Older trucks will probably benefit from an exhaust brake.

Glenn

[Ishler]

Jeff
On our recent trip to Bristol,Tn from upstate NY we went up and down some steep long grades, especially in WVA. I was a little apprehensive but in TOW/HAUL only an occasional tap on the brake was required if the speed started to creep up. I don't think I would spend the money unless I was driving the Rockies for a significant time. If you check your documentation you will find that the Jacobs exaust brake is reccomended by Cummins and Dodge for our trucks. Supposedly the transmission and computer have been modified in the 2004.5 and 2005's to work with the brake and not violate the warrenty.

[Bill Hill]

Jeff,
while it's true that many of the newer transmissions have a tow/haul mode (especially the Allison used in GMC products) that doesn't override the fact that diesel engines have little to no engine braking ability. This is because unlike gasoline engines which have some kind of "butterfly" valve altering the incoming airflow, diesels have no "butterfly" and are always "wide open", engine speed is controlled by the amount of fuel only. So, in order to get engine braking you need something to restrict either the incoming air flow or the exhaust flow. I believe that all of the commercially available exhaust brakes for "light duty" (1-ton and under) trucks are the type that restrict exhaust flow. They use a solenoid system to close a butterfly valve inserted in the exhaust pipe somewhere past the turbo. When the system is activated, backing off the accelerator will close or partially close the valve, creating back pressure which is felt as engine braking. (sorry to be so long winded on this).

As others have indicated, whether you need one or not is dependent on a number of factors: What kind of grades you are likely to encounter, how much weight are you pulling, how fast do you want to stop. We've had our truck for 1-1/2 years now, but didn't get the exhaust brake until we bought our 5er. When we towed a 7K GVWR TT I felt we didn't need it, but we certainly do with a 12.5 GVWR 5er. I really liked the BD, but there are others that other folks like better. Find a shop that installs them that you feel comfortable with and ask them what they recommend for your application. We felt is was money well spent as we do all our towing in CA and the Southwest right now, and with plenty of steep grades it give a lot of peace of mind.

[sreigle]

On the Ford, and I think the latest GM, the turbo vanes are variable in pitch. As part of the grade braking strategy these vanes close, causing a backpressure that also helps in slowing the vehicle. I think the newest GM's do the same thing.(Actually, according to the magazines the Ford excels at tow/haul grade braking so it's not just GM). I have never towed with an exhaust brake so cannot say that the exhaust brake doesn't slow things down even more quickly. However, I have towed 4-mile long 8% downgrades with our GCV of just under 22,000 lbs and can say I let the tow/haul do the braking and I rarely ever step on the brake pedal once it's fully engaged. I will sometimes step on the brake to force it to downshift another gear rather than wait for a 2 to 5mph speed gain for automatic downshifting. By the way, the vanes also vary in pitch as part of normal operation so even standard off-throttle deceleration is much improved over the older style diesels. You really have to experience it to appreciate how well it works.

[Jeff Heiser]

Thanks everyone. Alll real helpful information.

Thanks.

Jeff Heiser
Merritt Island Florida

[Montana_1774]

My two cents, I had a Pacbrake installed last month and yesterday came south fron Flagstaff,AZ to Phoenix via I-17. Six percent grade for 13 miles. I engaged the brake and didn't put my foot on the brake petal at anytime coming down. I would do it again. It helped and the piece of mind is incalculable.

[H. John Kohl]

Jeff,
I put one on my truck and it works great. One of the best comments I saw was the statement on a test of the new Peterbuilt 335 and it's exhaust brake. The statement goes along with the rule you should never go down a hill any faster than you can go up it when towing. With that being said the comment was they had to down shift to get the break to work on some stepper hills and the brake will work in the same gear you pulled the hill.
I found that true for my set up which totals at 23K lbs. Out in western Maryland the five mile 6 and 7 % grades I had to drop down to 4th gear max speed in 4th is 50 mph and it held fine. That was also the gear I pulled the hill.
I used the exhaust brake on one hill, topped the hill at 50 mph and the speed was dropped to 40 mph by the road sign. I down shifted to 4th with the exhaust brake on and within one mile on an 8% down hill grade I was at 40 mph with out touching the vehicle brakes. They were cool and ready to react if needed.
If I am towing in any hills I will not be without it.
Now I can not speak about the new tow command on the 05 trucks.
Good luck.

[Thunderman]

How much should one expect to pay for an exhaust brake and installation? Thanks

[palebluedot]

Aside from the benefit of downhill & even level ground speed control, the exhaust brake will greatly increase the life of the brake pads on your truck.

[sreigle]

H. John Kohl, I've towed those 8% grades on I-68 in western Maryland going west to east as well as east to west. Funny, I always thought of Maryland being flat but that aint the case in that part of the state! As an alternate to the interstate, we also towed US 50 from Virginia through West Virginia and on to Kansas City. Very beautiful drive on the WV part of it but don't be in a hurry!

[Bill Hill]

Thunderman,
I think we paid about $1,500 and change for the BD Brake we have. That's in So. Calif. where everything seems to be more expensive.

[Thunderman]

quote:Originally posted by Bill Hill

Thunderman,
I think we paid about $1,500 and change for the BD Brake we have. That's in So. Calif. where everything seems to be more expensive.

Bill,
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it!

[Montana_3598]

I've got a Banks Brake on my '02 Ford F-250, and use the heck out of it. I'll flip it on even just coming off an exit ramp to help slow the rig and lay off the brakes. I've done that 3 mile 10% grade coming out of Mt. Rushmore with the Banks Brake, 4th gear, and only had to tap once on the brakes due to idiot driver syndrome (the one that pulled in front of me, that is). I'd never have another diesel without it. The Banks Brake with a TransCommand and TransLock is awesome with an automatic - locks up the torque converter in all 4 gears over 1600 RPM.

[PowellsMonty]

I thought an exhaust brake would void warantee also, our dealership said Ford could void it because of aftermarket air filters. Ford rep had a fit over my air bags & EGT! They finally replaced my tranny after rebuilding it locally 4 times. Previous owner had a chip installed and they accused me of it. They made me buy a new computer for it but split the cost with me. So, I won't add anything till my warantee is up. The district service managers can be a real horses butt if they want to be. Good thing is I am getting 2-3 MPG more since new computer was installed.

[Montana_1892]

hi, we just had Dodge put a Pac brake on our new 3500 dually and it cost just over $1200.00 tax, guts and out the door with the activation switch mounted on the 6spd gear shift, so you can turn it on and off with your hand on the shift knob