01RAMer

Will I have to modify the exhaust pipe to install a turbo mounted exhaust brake?

Homestead

A turbo mount exhaust brake essentially just replaces the elbow on the back of the turbo. Unbolt the elbow, replace with the brake. On a stock truck, the exhaust downpipe bolts back on and away you go. If you have a turbo back exhaust such as a 4 inch system, again it just bolts back into place.

My truck has been running an exhaust brake since almost the day I bought it. It's gone from a stock HX 35 to a PDR35 all using a BD 4 inch exhaust system and it all just bolts on no cutting involved.

The brake has over 200,000 miles on it and I can still chirp the tires when I get it come on hard during downshifts and I have done absolutely nothing to it except replace the vacuum lines a couple of times over the years. And no, I don't chirp the tires on purpose.

You shouldn't have any problems mounting up a turbo mount brake unless something "odd" has been done to your truck with regards to exhaust.

You won't regret putting a brake on no matter what you finally get. Once you have driven an exhaust brake equipped truck, you will never look back.

Jeff

kantdrive55

The Decellerator is the same technology that we used about 15 years ago and almost broke us in warranty claims. The problem lies in the solenoid that activates the brake. Electricity and heat dont normally get along very well together. You have an electric solenoid that sits right beside the exhaust. Over time the solenoids would fail and the brake wouldnt work. Think of it sort of like going out today and buying a beta movie player. Does it allow you to watch movies, yes, but why watch beta when you can have a Blue ray player....

rebal

we have an 03-05 2 01s 99 97 91 90 and a 92 all but the 90 have EB on them and #60 valve springs ,BD ,banks, decelerator and prxb the only ones never to have had an issue were the Banks and the D-cel, the others have stuck ,blown a compressor or a solenoid failure these trucks are hooked to heavy 12,000 lbs or more trailers and worked hard every day the EB are put to use hard and every one of the truck are modded but the 03 and like I said I personally feel the D-cel, pulls down the hardest then the banks brake , but for the most part all of them work great and are a must for towing heavy stuff and there all reliable with few to non problems

PS my D- CEL is electric and has worked everyday (10 years now) with zero issues but it sits back at the muff. not on a real hot turbo
R.

01RAMer

Thanks Homestead for the explanation. It really helps. I'm pulling 13k wet so I need something that pulls well. Thanks rebal. Lots of good info to digest.

totalloser

Sorry for the late response. My BD bolted right up to my 4" which bolted right up to the stock elbow. IE bolt on.

For towing heavy I'd lean towards a full closure shifter toggle, personally. If you just gotta have the most pull the Banks gives you more, but I've pulled relatively heavy (6-10k) with some regularity on windy Norcal mountain roads with the BD and found it more than adequate.

01RAMer

I finally decided on the Banks, and I'm not at all satisified with the performance. You told me you can chirp the tires, and I expected a lot more than I got. With the Banks, I hardly notice it pulling. The only thing I can tell you is that is sounds kinda neat. Any suggestions on what I can do to improve the braking power?

Homestead

When I first had mine installed and went on the maiden voyage to try it out, it sucked.

I said the same thing to myself, what a waste this is, I can get better results dragging my feet.

The trick is to just use it and learn the ins and outs. Keep your rpm's up and let the motor do the braking. When I downshift while pulling heavy coming to a stop, I'm not afraid to get it upwards of 2500 rpm or more. Do this and the brake will pull it down pretty good.

In deep traffic, I will run one gear lower than I normally would to keep the revs up and I will rarely touch the brakes unless it's really bumper to bumper traffic.

On a lot of hills, I can go down them using 6th gear and it will retard it but 5th is even better whereas I can use the brake and actually feather the throttle to keep my speed up where I want it to be.

After all these years of using it everyday, just for giggles once and awhile I will turn it off. WOW!!! It really pounds it home how much I rely on the exhaust brake.

And yes, good hard downshift will chirp the tires as well as a maximum effort hard downshift will stall the motor when you bring the revs up on the 3200 governed rpm.

I don't know if you have a back pressure guage installed. I just use a boost guage reading off the elbow to the brake. It's a good indicator on how your brake is working as well as showing you just how hard you hit it. Mine is set to bleed off at 40 psi of back pressure which if I remember right is about 130 braking horsepower....60 psi is about 190. It doesn't sound like much but it is there.

Just play with and use and you will get to feel how it works.

And it does sound cool!!

Jeff

KATOOM

As Homestead mentioned, using an exhaust brake takes a different approach. Low RPM's simply wont work and will result in very poor exhaust brake performance. That doesn't mean you need to stay at or near redline while driving either but the higher the RPM, the better the brake will work. Also, yes, after driving for awhile with the exhaust brake, you will occasionally surprise yourself when coming up on a stop if you forget to turn it on. I use mine all the time and it will even slow the truck to almost a full stop "if".....I care to downshift through enough gears but any lower than 25 mph and there's no point. But when towing the exhaust brake will enable me to sustain most downhill speeds I choose with almost no need for the mechanical brake unless something requires immediate action. No chirping tires for me though since that's to hard on everything and especially the clutch.

Dr. Evil

x2 on what Homestead said. The Jacobs e-break on my 01 works great. An exhaust brake is kind of useless if you dont know how to properly use it.

01RAMer

Thanks all! I guess this will be a learning experience as I never had one before. In September I'm heading out RVing so I'll see how it handles 13K pounds of trailer. Hopefully I can figure out how to use it properly to help me with that load.

Dr. Evil

Just reread what Homestead said above...thats probably all you need to know about using it.

Make you you arent in too tall of a gear. To get the most out of the brake you want to keep the rpms up (2500 rpm+). If you do this you will notice a big difference in how it works.

01RAMer

Homestead, thanks. I used the higher RPMs an lower gear as directed, and was surprised at the difference. I would never have figured out how to use the brake properly without your help. I really appreciate your help with this.

Homestead

You don't have to Thank me, that's why we are all here, to learn from each others experience.

One thing you can also try while driving/using your brake. It's become a habit to me now but as I downshift, I blip the throttle and let the brake catch the motor at a slightly higher rpm just as I release the clutch. The brake will hold the motor up there a little longer before it starts to pull it down.

How is your brake actuated? Are you using a manual switch on the shifter? A micro switch on the throttle pedal? Just a dash mounted on/off switch?

Mine is wired through a master on/off switch and then through a micro switch on the pedal. But I have a shifter switch that interrupts everything. My "master" switch is always on and I use the shifter switch as my on/off. This way I can momentarily turn off the brake as I'm downshifting and then turn it back on as I release the clutch. During normal highway driving or traffic for that matter, the shifter switch is always "on" and the brake is actuated via the micro switch on the pedal by just lifting my foot. It might sound a little confusing but it's simple the way it's wired.

You are also aware of being able to use the brake for faster warm ups in cold weather as well as keeping heat in the truck while idling? I know it's not "good" for the truck but mine has idled for hours on end against the brake during our cold season and other than burning some extra fuel, it's always warm and hasn't hurt anything yet.

Hope it helps and ask away if you need anything else, that's why we are here!

Jeff

totalloser

I'm gonna guess that it's wired to the apps and came with a toggle switch. If so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING A SHIFTER TOGGLE.

You won't know how you did without it. Splitting shifts is sooper nice, and your brake control is always right there where you need it with no need to fiddle with the throttle to control the brake on hills.

Skip a gear on a downshift and engage the brake before popping the clutch and I PROMISE you rubber!

Your newer style (?) full closure Banks should pull better than my BD and on wet pavement I always have to be careful in corners using the exhaust brake at all because it will break traction. I ran 35x12.5 (315/75r16's) duals and could break them loose at will with heavy clutch/brake application. Big rig tires same story, but less apt to get loose in corners.