Exhaust Brakes

[tbhd2]

We've been looking at exhaust brakes. Found out the hard way we really need one. We have a 1995 truck that still runs good but know we will be getting a newer one sooner or later. We've seen the electronic ones on E-Bay (much cheaper)and was wondering if anyone knows anything about these units. Do they work or will they do any damage to the truck? Anyone have any experience with these units?
E-Bay # 150187046665 e.g. Thanks for any input.

[clutch]

You didn't state if your truck is a 5sp or auto. If it's an auto the exhaust brake won't work unless you make some expencive changes to the transmission.

[stiles watson]

You didn't say what brand of truck you have.

[Redrover98]

I installed a PacBrake exhaust brake in my 98 Dodge that is an automatic without doing anything to the transmission. I put it in back in 2001 and now has over 115k miles on it with no ill effects. Would not hook up my Monty without it.

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by clutch

You didn't state if your truck is a 5sp or auto. If it's an auto the exhaust brake won't work unless you make some expencive changes to the transmission.

I disagree. I have a '95 Ford F-250 with the Banks Exhaust brake and we made no changes to the transmission. Part of the Banks Exhaust brake system includes a Smart-Lok controller which helps the transmission and engine to work together. We've had no problems with it in the almost six years we've had it installed.

Orv

[H. John Kohl]

I am not sure what the "electric one" does. The two exhaust brake activations I have seen are either vacuum or air pressure. My exhaust brake is a butterfly valve (choke like) in the exhaust. It is open until activated. When activated it blocks exhaust (ONLY WHEN NO Throttle is activate) helping to slow down the vehicle. It works best at High engine RPMS. The term much cheaper is unknown. What do you consider cheaper. My system was over $1500 with installation by the dealership. I guess we need more information to help answer the question.
I am cautious when I see something real cheep. I feel you get what you pay for but again that does not always work in this RV environment.
Cheers,

[tbhd2]

We have a 1995 Ford F-350 powerstroke automatic 4.10 gear. It has almost 100,000 mi. on it. The units I'm looking at are sold on E-Bay. When I say cheap I mean 200 to 300 dollars. The more expensive also utilizes a TC lock-up. They are not the common exhaust brake like a Pac Brake, Banks, etc. These units are electronic. " 7.3 PSD engine has the warmup EBV valve on the backside of the turbo as this brake kit uses that to build the stopping brake compression. These exhaust brakes also work on California trucks too! Very easy to install & they work fantastic." This is from one of their adds. I e-mailed them and they said they were 95% effective as a conventional exhaust brake. Just wondering if anyone out there has had any experience with one of these units.

[Jim Dickey]

I've been reading about the Western Diesel's Turbo Brake but can not find any info on suppliers It looks like what I need and seems to be fairly straight forward installation. Any know where they can be purchased?

[HughM]

There are really 2 kinds of exhaust brakes. First is the "Jake Brake" and it works off of your valve springs. Thus the popping you hear on big rigs (18 wheelers) RV's don't have Jake Brakes.
Rv's have exhaust brakes which are "Butterflys" in exhaust causing back pressure on the engine causing them to slow down. They are not connected to your transmission in any form.
They are nice to have (I've had several) but do not expect them to stop you are quick as your brakes! They merely slow you down.

[Jim Dickey]

The 7.3 has a butterfly valve in the exhaust that is normally used to warm up the engine. the Western Diesel's Turbo Brake installs an electronic system that allows the warm up butterfly to be used as an exhaust brake.

[stiles watson]

You might want to explore what they have at www.spdiesel.com . It may do what you want for around $280. It uses existing hardware and is a plug and play wiring harness.

[bigmurf]

The unit on Ebay is from SPDIESEL.COM. Sounds like it would work using the butterfly in the system.

[clutch]

quote:Originally posted by ols1932

I disagree. I have a '95 Ford F-250 with the Banks Exhaust brake and we made no changes to the transmission. Part of the Banks Exhaust brake system includes a Smart-Lok controller which helps the transmission and engine to work together. We've had no problems with it in the almost six years we've had it installed.


Your Smart-Lok keeps your torque converter engaged so it will work. The transmission in my Dodge goes into a freewheel mode when you coast because the torque converter disengages when you take your foot off the throttle. I believe that the Ford transmission is a lot better unit than what is in the early Dodges.

Orv

[clutch]

quote:Originally posted by Redrover98

I installed a PacBrake exhaust brake in my 98 Dodge that is an automatic without doing anything to the transmission. I put it in back in 2001 and now has over 115k miles on it with no ill effects. Would not hook up my Monty without it.

The PacBrake must have some wiring that keeps the torque converter in lockup mode inorder for it to work. A guy that owns a large transmission shop advised me to not put one on without changing to a higher quality torque converter as the TC is the biggest single cause of failure in our type of transmission. Obviously with 115k on your truck with no problem it is working good for you.

[MAMalody]

I have a PacBrake on my '02 F350. You have to have a separate TC lockout installed. I don't know if you need it for any other trucks, however.

[Thunderman]

quote:Originally posted by tbhd2

We've been looking at exhaust brakes. Found out the hard way we really need one. We have a 1995 truck that still runs good but know we will be getting a newer one sooner or later. We've seen the electronic ones on E-Bay (much cheaper)and was wondering if anyone knows anything about these units. Do they work or will they do any damage to the truck? Anyone have any experience with these units?
E-Bay # 150187046665 e.g. Thanks for any input.

lightingjack11 put one on his truck sometime ago. Info from diesel stop.com ...cost was around $35.00. Do a search for his posts or he may be along with iformation.
Good luck!

[buschet1]

Just last week I installed a BD-Power exhaust brake. The unit cost me $1300.00 at XtremeDiesel.com. I installed it myself in about 3 hours. After much research and talking with the manufacturer I felt the BD unit was best for my rig. I am looking forward to hooking up and try it out in the spring. I can feel the brake working now. But as they advertise, it’s not designed to stop the truck. It's supposed to work well with the Allison/Duramax combo. I guess we’ll see.

[mtheo]

I have the Banks system and it works great with the Allision trans. I realy like the warm up feature.

[lightningjack11]

I built one for about 40 dollars. I only use it for descents. My 7.3 has an EBPV valve normally used for warmup. I run a switch to close the valve which acts as an exhaust brake. I also powered it through a relay driven by INS switch on the accelerator. This disables the brake when I push the gas petal.(relay opens)

Since I have an Auto transmission I had to do another mod. I installed a Torque Converter lockup switch to keep the internal clutch locked during descents. What happens with an auto tranny is when you start the dexcent and you touch the brake it automatically unlocks your torque converter and puts you on fluid flow. For max engine braking you should have the TC locked up. (The TC has an enternal clutch to provide a direct connection between engine and tranny)

So for operation I have two 8-9percent 4 mile grades when I go to Pa. So at the start of descent I engage the TC lock and the exhaust brake switch. The truck will descend the grades at 50mph without using my foot brake which preserves my truck brake for emergency stopping.

My hand drawing is not too good. All parts were from Radio shack. the idea for this brake came from info on the dieselstop.com

[mobilrvn]

Had a Banks on our old truck and the Smart-Loc wasn't smart and it destroyed the tranny. With the new truck, we don't need an exhaust brake. Can't recommend a Banks for sure.