What are these "retarders" and how do

I used to drive a Kenworth 300 series trash truck. I drove with the engine brake on all the time. It wasn't much of a brake. Nobody else in the company could drive it with the engine brake on. They all had difficulty shifting smoothly even without it on. Once had the owner drive with me. I had one eye out of commission. He couldn't believe how difficult it was to shift that thing smoothly. I told him he just needed a couple weeks with her. Get down her picky demands. ....
First person to drive that new truck was a kid who absolutely thrashed that transmission.

 

All you need to know is that a jake brake
Will be your most trusted friend.

It's by far the most important safety device
On a truck.

 

Just to add. Not an argument. Know you said on a truck.
I used to work a very dangerous career. They were very good at safety. One thing they always told us: "Your single best, most important piece of safety equipment is your Brain. Use it!"

 

Welcome to truck driving!

 

Well we never called a jake a retarder but technically I guess it is an engine retarder, but what was commonly called a retarder was only available on cats, some have both, but jakes were not even available on some cats, the old V8's come to mind, but retarders were.
The retarders were hydraulic and are between the engine and transmission, run off the oil pump, and you can retard the engine with them without it even being in gear, they were discontinued when cat came out with the acerts, because of oil temps, from what I understand Most modern cats that had a retarder also had a jake, with both you can go down serious grades much faster without worrying about using your brakes.

They are real nice to have when idling in cold weather you can just pull one down to 5 or 10 pounds and kep the engine temp up.

 

Never mind the orders. I love the ones who make promises to brokers and shippers and customers. Now I have to keep them. No. I make my own appt times or the trailer will get there when it gets there. Late or not. I tell them it will be late and they don't listen. And you wonder why when it does show up late they have to pay for it, because they don't listen to what I tell them. Eventually I am replaced with someone else who preferably stays quiet and does not give truth to power.

 

The 3406A I'm building doesn't even have a factory jake option. Just the hydraulic brakesaver. Its nowhere near as good as a jake. I could make a full retarder application and accelerate to 1,800 RPM. I'd have to guess its only capable of absorbing 300-350HP.

 

How many pounds is your retarder putting out? it is in need of a rebuild if it will not hold more than a cat jake, especially an A or B model.

 

I am not up on the mechanical aspects of the retarder, but I have used them a lot and they work great. One thing I have head of when they get weak, is a diaphram needs replacing, and from what I understand it is an easy process.

 

they used to tell us some guy we’d see in the mirror was responsible for our safety.