Transmission Retarder?

If you pull the stick back with the jack slowing you down
It will drop 2 gears and go into the brake mode.
Which will keep the rpms up high and down shift as you slow. It was awesome coming off the interstate on some off the short exits. I always used it. (On dry ) roads.

 

Noticed a couple say they run auto all the time. Watch that as it'll drop ya out of gear on the ecoroll function sometimes when you don't expect it.

 

Count yourself lucky.... you have a manual to read...

 

Retarders are pretty standard all round the world now.Huge advances from the 70's.They are very good and outperform the engine brake by leaps and bounds.Not much hassles either.

 

Back in the day, ran a '76 Pete, 3406, 13 speed, with a hydraulic clutch retarder. Had a small lever on the L/S of the steering column, opposite the trailer brake. It took nothing to heat it up into the red zone on the dash gauge. Was not worth what the company paid for it, then again we were running about 105,000.

 

They have improved a lot.They now nearly all fit on the rear of the gearbox a bit tile a PTO but are actually part of the box.One man can lift the whole thing up , I guess about 100LBS.They are just a pump that pumps the gearbox oil through a restriction of varied degrees.There is a heat exchanger fed from the radiator so the heat is dissipated through the engines cooling system.Really effective and almost trouble free.If in hilly area of operating heavy they are a treat.It worries me a bit when drivers have only ever driven with a retarder as it makes descents to easy and they lose respect I fear.

 

Guy I used to drive with was from South Africa and they use retarders there -- sounded much more effective than jakes here. He was always puzzled why we didn't have them as standard equipment here in the States.

 

I suspect because retarders are quieter than jakes, that's why they haven't caught on over here. You know, the whole "Loud Pipes Save Lifes" thing going on...

 

Well luckily mine is an old fashioned 10 speed manual!