jake brakes; when to use them, when not to

i was wondering about that--was the first time that i heard about it affecting fuel economy---i couldnt see how it was possible-as you arnt putting fuel in while on jake
my opinion it is there to slow down--use it when it is appropiate

 

I understand why jake shifting is bad... because it shock loads the driveline... but something I've always wondered about is if the act of LIGHTLY pressing on the clutch pedal while floating gears to disengage the jakes has any negative effect on the clutch/pressure plate at all?

 

Welcome! I'm learning right along with other newbie/wannabies here and this forum is a great place to learn, but yes, you do need to take the thread hijacks with a grain of salt. You'll find the first couple of responses are pretty good and then you'll notice the thread dissolves into a kind of glorified PM-ing with goofy twists written for self amusement more than anything else. Ya might say that the thread's subject matter gets the jakes applied to them while the crap gets put into a kind of "Georgia overdrive", but you'll get used to it.

We have four instructors at the community college I'm taking class at with a combined 138+ yrs OTR experience (both company and O/O driving), and they have let us know that jake brakes are meant for long down hills to save brakes, period. Just say'n...

 

Running a Jake all the time is the way newbies think they look cool. Bad Idea.

Use for holding or slowing the truck only. I only use it on down hills, not in traffic or truck stops.

All shifting with the jakes does is make you look like a Swift Grad, and damage the trans.

 

Because now your not floating gears.

 

I normaly apply in progressive stages to minimize shock. I think some cruises do that as well or you can program it to do that but I'm not 100% sure on that. Some guys can shift very smooth with jakes on which keeps shock loads down, and does little or no extra wear on the truck, but the majority of people I see shock the driveline, rev too high putting wear on the engine (without the lubricity of fuel) or rev too low so it's barely doing any good. Somebody mentioned brake saving which is true but brakes are cheap and easy to replace where as the rest of the engine and driveline is expensive both in cost, labor (yours or somebody else's), and down time. I only use the jake for going down hills or short get off ramps. Also as somebody mentioned, I go down most mountain passes without ever touching the brakes. On flat land I barely down shift, let alone use jakes. To each his own. Everybody drives a little different.

 

I only turn the jakes off for three reasons... I'm in a truckstop, A sign says I have to, or the weather dictates the need. Other than the aforementioned reasons, the jakes are always on. I can't understand why extra braking power is ever a bad thing unless weather conditions are a factor ?? I certainly don't find myself to be "too cool" rolling around in my Volvo "blaring" my engine brakes.

 

How am I not floating gears if I only press the clutch pedal enough to take out the free play (in order to disengage the jakes) but not far enough to actually disengage the clutch from the flywheel?

Anyway my question was and still is: Does "riding" the clutch pedal long enough to go through the gears cause any wear and tear on the clutch?

If the answer is YES, I may consider not doing so.

Maybe I should ask this in the truck tech section?

 

I missed that lecture at the academy....don't have a clue about how to shift with the jake. Not sure if I want to know. Sounds like a bad idea.

 

Ahh, more pointless swift hating.