EXHAUST BRAKE
With all this heavy towing, we needed some additional braking power, especially while towing heavy for those long downhill runs, such as Donner's Pass in the Sierra Nevadas or through the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania.
We equipped the truck with a 4-inch diameter inline exhaust brake from BD. This brake is air actuated, driven by a compressor that hides inside the passenger fender well. It connects to the factory ECM, which will engage the brake when the truck is below operating temperature at idle, when the throttle is released when the truck is in motion, as well as in between shifts as the truck down shifts during deceleration. This brake is very effective.
The truck warms up quickly at idle and it provides solid braking power throughout the rpm range, due to BD's offset butterfly valve design. It actually seems to provide even better braking power at low rpm. Now those long downhill runs, where we'd usually have our heart pounding as we're timing the strategic use of our brakes, are kind of fun because we can simply take our foot off the throttle or set the cruise control to maintain a safe speed. The BD exhaust brake has been trouble-free except for an electric air pressure solenoid valve that had to be replaced due to water damage and corrosion.
There should have been a breather line in place from the valve up to the engine compartment that we failed to install when we put the brake in. This allowed water/debris to enter the valve and cause the failure. We also had to replace the sealing gaskets between the exhaust manifold and turbo exhaust housing due to the high amount of exhaust back pressure created by the brake when it's engaged. Even with the additional labor of changing the manifold gasket, this exhaust brake has proven itself worthy of the LBMC.