No Engine Brakes???

manure..........

 

When your dropping off 6-10 miles of 6% grade on a highway it is smart to check your brakes & jake BEFORE you start down the grade. It's a hella lot easier to speed up than slow down.

 

You have an International huh?

I have a Prostar, and it might as well not have a jake.

 

If you peruse the new trucks websites you'll see a good number of the new trucks are spec'd without jakes for some reason.

Last year unbeknownst to me, my truck was slowly de-rating over time such that the jakes got weaker and weaker. It finally got to the point going east on I70 I would put her in 3rd gear on the downhills as it was heavy and trying to outrun all the time.

You don't 'need' them but they are a nice tool. For sure when you don't have them and are crawling down the hills, you get a lot of snide remarks from the other truckers about learning how to get down the hills the 'right' way. I just reply they would soil their panties if they didn't have working jakes-- that shuts them up.

 

where is the 45000 at drive or trailes axles?

 

To quote Ron White it will take you all the way to the crash site, Just kidding you can get along fine with no jake if you drive like you have a brain and use it (your brain)

 

I may be sounding like a know it all but a jake is not designed to let you go faster off a hill it is so you can go off a hill safer

 

Yes but SOME engage only the JAKE and not the BRAIN to go along with it.

 

Engine brakes.

Engine brakes work by opening exhaust valves in the engine electrically, hydraulically &/or mechanically. One of the manufacturers markets the system as their Jake Brake and this has resulted in the name being attached to this type of braking system.

Engine brakes are the type banned by communities because of the loud "popping" noise introduced.

Exhaust brakes.

Exhaust brakes simply block off free flow of exhaust gases by closing a butterfly valve in the exhaust system, typically on the output side of the turbo charger. A switch on the dash turns the system on or off, but activation of the brake is initiated when zero throttle is detected. At the same time, the system will request the transmission to shift to a lower gear, although downshift doesn't actually occur until the transmission determines it's safe to do so.

One of the manufacturers markets their exhaust brake system under the name Pac Brake, which gave rise to the name being attached to this type of brake system.

Jacobs, the manufacturer of the Jake engine brake above, also manufactures an exhaust brake under the name Extarder, which probably adds to the confusion surrounding this subject. Transmission retarder.

Transmission retarders work by impeding (slowing) the revolution of the driveshaft. A few retarders may use straightforward friction, essentially a drum brake on the drive shaft, but the most popular type (the Telma Retarder) is electro-magnetic and slows the shaft via magnetic field action. Allison also offers a retarder integrated into some of their transmissions.

 

No i got the Freightliner century with the Mercedes engine. I have an exhaust brake instead of a true Jake.

What year is your prostar? I know the 2010-2011 pro stars in our fleet had a very crappy engine brake, but the 2012+ model pro stars have true Jake brakes.

Ethan