Jake Break - Montana Owners Club

gojodo · 01-31-2010, 12:17 PM

I have a 2006 Dodge 3500 with a 5.9L Diesel to which I had the dealer add a Jake Break when I bought it. The Jake Break has been great until now. It suddenly stopped working. Does anyone out there have any experience with a Jake Break? I know it must have a fuse but I have no idea of where to look for it. Any suggestions on troubleshooting this would be appreciated. I recently tried to get the Dodge dealer to look at it but they simply said it was an after market item (even though it was a Dodge dealer that installed it) so they didn't know how to fix it. I am trying to contact the nearest Cummins repair shop which may be where I have to go. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks John

noneck · 01-31-2010, 02:43 PM

They can fail a couple of ways...
1. Butterfly shaft seize up due to non-use...(requires replacement)
You should see while engine is not running, if you can move the butterfly close/open
2. Pneumatic problem...not sure how yours is actuated via air pressure or vacuum?
Check to see if line has any splits that feeds the actuator.

clutch · 01-31-2010, 05:43 PM

Good suggestions.

richard66 · 02-28-2010, 01:34 PM

Are you rerfering to a Jacobs Exhaust Brake? If you are, you can contact Jacobs tech line, they will walk you through the diagnosis. Get your VOM out and start hunting. The symptoms sound more electrical than mechanical. Your dealer who installed the unit should have given you an owners manual. If this is a Jacobs unit your dealer should be knowledgeable of the unit. They could be ordered as OEM on the 07's.

nunya · 02-28-2010, 02:05 PM

look on line for the owners manual from jacobs, should be easy to find. Check for leaks from the vacum pump and check to see the pump is working. There has been pump failures. 50K on mine so far OK!

H. John Kohl · 02-28-2010, 04:29 PM

My 03 Jacobs exhaust brake runs off vacuum. They added a vacuum pump to the serpentine belt route so I have a longer belt. There is a relay that is wired to a solenoid switch that allows the vacuum to activate the butterfly valve. Find the solenoid and trace the wires back to the relay for it. Close to that relay should be a fuse.

The best suggestion I read was contacting Jacobs. Good luck and let us know what you find.

**Rondo** · 03-01-2010, 04:26 AM

I think my question to John is "Do you drive it daily for work and pleasure without a heavy tow?" This COULD carbon up that butterfly valve and make it stick. I don't have the Jake Brake but my Chevy carboned up bad enough that they had to replace the exhuast filter (burning chamber for the recon'ing) and also had to replace the EGR valve because it carboned up all the way up to there. The reason was that the EGR got some carbon or crud in it and stayed open just a little thus creating a richer blend to be used and carboned up heavily. At least that's what the diesel mechanic told me! Also while away on the trip to Australia, my sister-in-law went out and started the TV and let it run for 20 minutes or so without driving it. Not good on a diesel. But the mechanic said he didn't think that was the total cause and the EGR was the culprit!

gojodo · 03-01-2010, 11:31 PM

Thanks to all. I finally took it to Cummins and they replaced the vacuum pump, works fine now, but $600 later, ouch.

bigmurf · 03-02-2010, 02:51 PM

FYI
Vacuum pump

Cummins part # is 3965925

This pump is a commonly used vacuum pump on all the light duty diesel applications. Ford(used for the 7.3l and 6.0l brake boosters), GM(used on the 6.5l td for boost control actuator) and obviously Mopar use the same exact pump. The pumps are available (sans pulley which has to be pulled off the old one and pressed onto the new one), at autozone for about $125 (part number 64-1025) and at many other dealers. In fact a local supplier has them for about $95 new complete. I'm perplexed as to why on earth the dodge dealers and even cummins are marking this pump up so high... strange.

Anyway, good luck to anyone who needs a new one. Try autozone or your local parts dealer and just ask for a vacuum pump for a 99 gmc suburban with the 6.5l turbodiesel...

gojodo · 03-04-2010, 01:16 AM

Thanks for the information. I went to Cummins where their shop rate is over $125 an hour, the part cost $205. This would have made for a profitable Sunday afternoon installation in the backyard, but of course I didn't know what was wrong and didn't have the equipment to troubleshoot it, plus 14" of snow. Others should consider the self help. I did finally get a trouble shooting manual from Jake which helped a lot if I was going to do it myself. John

northeastdiesel · 03-04-2010, 06:51 AM

The vaccume pumps fail alot from what I have read on alot of the forums. What I don't understand is if you had the brake installed when you bought it new then it should have been under warrenty, unless you are out of warrenty. That was the selling point of the Jacobs exhaust brake. I plan on installing a brake on mine, but I am going to install a pac brake due to less failure and it being controlled by a compressor. I can run airbags off the compressor also. Check into a lube that you can add to the pump that makes it last longer. I just can't remember what it was called. For future breakage hang on to that cummins part # because its alot cheaper to buy it from cummins than Dodge. The parts are the same, just boxed up differently and marked up 150%. Happy trails!

You may also like: