Howdy!

Starting to do my home work for an exhaust brake.

I have a 1996 2500 12v with auto trans. would like to put an exhuast barke on it before I take my next trip to the Northeast with my 5er.

Looked at Banks but was advsied $1700.00 installed.

Looking for recommendation.

Also on the 12v are they've other mod's need to be done other than the exhaust brake, and trans lock. Hear something about replacing the valve springs.

Thanks for the help.

"Happy Trails"
chiefneon

 

The exhaust brake wont work well unless you can lock up the auto tranny while the foot is off the accelerator.<br><br>I bought my truck with the RamBrake already installed. I too, have an Auto Tranny.<br>However, when I take my foot off the accelerator, the torque converter unlocks. This means that the exhaust brake holds the rpms of the engine down, but the torque converter still allows the truck to gain speed down hill.<br>This also heats up the tranny temps quickly.<br><br>Check the &quot;High Performance&quot; section on this site. Currently, SFtopSGT and Drammer (I think) are evaluating a device that can keep the tranny locked up while the foot is off the accelerator.<br>I am not familiar with trannies such as DTT and ATS. I dont know if they can stay locked up or not.<br><br>Hope this helps, at least to some degree.<br><br>Rich

 

<br><br>Hmmm.. Dont know about the &quot;spring&quot;. <br>Maybe someone else with exhaust brakes can help you out a little better than I can.<br><br>Rich.

 

The spring you are referring to is Valve springs. To run 60 psi of back pressure on your exhaust brake, you need to upgrade your valve springs. I'm not sure on the psi cut off for the 12v's, but on my 24, if I wanted to set my brake for max braking (60 psi), it is recommended , but not necessary, to change to an upgraded valve spring. I only run 40 psi max so I'm fine. A friend of mine has a 12v and he wanted max output from his brake, so he had to change valve springs.<br>60 psi of back pressure at the brake is equivelant to 190 brake horsepower.<br><br>Hope it helps.

 

Chief, your engine has 35 pound valve springs. Some e-brakes require 60 pounds springs. Using a 60# regulated e-brake would float your valves when exhaust pressure exceeded 35 pounds. PacBrake's e-brake can be used with either 35 or 60 pound springs by using supplied pressure regulating part. <br><br>Using a lockup switch without upping line pressure can lead to slippage and premature clutch failure in a stock tc.

 

[quote author=chiefneon link=board=8;threadid=8577;start=0#msg82834 date=1040408433]
Howdy!

Starting to do my home work for an exhaust brake.

I have a 1996 2500 12v with auto trans. would like to put an exhuast barke on it before I take my next trip to the Northeast with my 5er.

Looked at Banks but was advsied $1700.00 installed.

Looking for recommendation.

Also on the 12v are they've other mod's need to be done other than the exhaust brake, and trans lock. Hear something about replacing the valve springs.

Thanks for the help.

&quot;Happy Trails&quot;
chiefneon
I put the BD Brake system with the (loc) but without the Heavy duty springs on my 1997 12v Dodge. Be sure the Brake system you choose works with your egr valve. I went through 4 EGR valves and the &quot;check engine light stays on all the time&quot;. The Dodge dealers have not been able to solve the EGR light problem other than to keep replacing the EGR valve. The BD Brake system and the engine runs (190K) fine and exhaust sytem still works. I would put the Heavy Duty springs in the valves to get maximum braking capacity. The BD system cost about $1200 installed in 1997.
I am buying a 2004 truck and will install the Banks Exhaust sytem. IMHO, I would not drive a diesel truck with a Brake exhaust system.
Good luck[/quote]