Engine Brake for the 6.7 Cummins

[Bohemian]

Our's is the 2014 with the two stage turbo. As I recall, the diesel guide claimed it was an exhaust brake. I don't know, but we were really happy with how well it worked even on steep grades.

Yes, the turbo turbine in the exhaust partially blocks the exhaust, building up back pressure in the motor and provides motor braking.

A Jake brake works by closing the motor valves after the intake stroke and letting the motor compress the air from the intake stroke of the engine storing energy in the compressed air, them opening the valves releasing the pressure so that it can not act as a spring and return the energy to the crankshaft. The sudden release of the air pressure creates one h*ll of a racket.

 

[porthole]

6.7 Fords prior to 2015 with the single sequential [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]turbocharger[/FONT] do not have "turbo" or exhaust brakes.
BD supposedly has an add on kit in the works, but development of it stalled last year.

 

[SeattleLion]

6.7 Fords prior to 2015 with the single sequential turbocharger do not have "turbo" or exhaust brakes.
BD supposedly has an add on kit in the works, but development of it stalled last year.

Gee, Ford says mine has engine braking. It works? Is Ford lying? Sheesh.

 

[branson4020]

Gee, Ford says mine has engine braking. It works? Is Ford lying? Sheesh.

Marketing speak. Every engine has some braking effect when you take your foot off the gas. What it certainly doesn't have is a Jacobs engine brake.

 

[porthole]

Gee, Ford says mine has engine braking. It works? Is Ford lying? Sheesh.

"Sheesh" - really?

It's all semantics.

Ford doesn't claim the 6.7 has an engine brake.
What they did claim in the Mike Rowe propaganda video when the 6.7 was introduced was, that it was equipped with an exhaust brake.
In the true meaning of an exhaust brake that was completely not correct. In the very generic meaning of exhaust brake, I suppose you could, if you dig deep enough, believe that dumping excess exhaust gas into the intake is an exhaust brake of some type. The reality is, that exhaust gases recirculating into the intake, AKA EGR, is nothing more then one of the many mandated EPA regulations to reduce emissions. The fact is that EGR dilutes the incoming charge which decreases power, and in doing so, will reduce speed. But, it still is not an exhaust brake, nor an engine brake relating to other mechanical braking methods.

2011-2014 6.7s use engine and power train programming to give the illusion of exhaust braking.
Those 6.7's have a real shortcoming when it comes to hills and heavy loads.

With the 2015 turbo change they have introduced an effective "turbo" brake, which also is not an exhaust brake.

Once you get to actually drive a heavy vehicle that is equipped with a "Jake" brake (that is a trademarked, specific type of mechanical engine braking), a Telma retarder, a true exhaust brake (butterfly valve in the downstream exhaust piping), turbo brake (using the variable geometry vanes inside the turbo to restrict gas flow) or any of the other mechanical means, then you can appreciate what the 11-14 Fords don't have.

Turbo braking has become quite common in the light duty truck industry and is very effective.

 

[SeattleLion]

It is a great illusion! Honestly, there is more cr.p on these boards sometimes. Our 2014 F350 uses its fake engine/exhaust braking to go down lots of 5 and 10 mile steep slopes pulling our 14,000 lb BH. Somehow the illusion prevents the real brakes from overheating and losing grip. Since we will not be pulling more than our "light" trailer, I guess we will never learn what we are missing. Here in the West, we traverse several mountain passes for each trip. No way conventional brakes will survive alone. Maybe the 2014's ability to go down steep hills is due to our belief it can do it. Isn't that how "illusions" work?

Seriously, jake brakes are illegal around here. I personally don't care how Ford does it. I do care that just tapping the brake in tow/haul mode immediately gives me strong illusionary braking that holds our speed right where we want it. This works on 10 and 15% grades, which is the typical situation here. I am not a truck driver. My car is a 2013 Mustang GT with the Ford Racing performance pack. It's engine braking is very poor, but it goes quite well on a track. When I drive the F350 I feel in complete control and I never have to ride the brake.

 

[marvmarcy]

Seriously, jake brakes are illegal around here.

I live in western MT and want to go to the coast on occasion and be prepared for things like this. Since I have a two-stage Jacobs engine brake on my Cummins ISX15, I wondered where you meant by "around here". I've seen few restrictions on Jake use, usually in populated areas. Most restrictions are on unmuffled engine brakes, but a few prohibit Jake use totally. I would hope muffled jakes are allowed over Snoqualmie Pass. My Jake makes no more noise than when the engine is accelerating.

Thanks, Marv

 

[SeattleLion]

I live in western MT and want to go to the coast on occasion and be prepared for things like this. Since I have a two-stage Jacobs engine brake on my Cummins ISX15, I wondered where you meant by "around here". I've seen few restrictions on Jake use, usually in populated areas. Most restrictions are on unmuffled engine brakes, but a few prohibit Jake use totally. I would hope muffled jakes are allowed over Snoqualmie Pass. My Jake makes no more noise than when the engine is accelerating.

Thanks, Marv

You can use noisy systems over most all passes here. The only restrictions are in more populated areas. There are compression brake prohibited signs in most populated areas, including very small villages. However, the major routes have no such restrictions. Snoqualmie pass isn't very steep, by the way. It gets a lot of snow in the winter, but otherwise is one of the least challenging.

 

[jnbhobe]

Actually the Ford Torque-Shift transmission is their engine brake. Tapping the brakes will downshift the transmission one gear in tow-haul as long as it won't over rev the engine.

 

[SeattleLion]

Actually the Ford Torque-Shift transmission is their engine brake. Tapping the brakes will downshift the transmission one gear in tow-haul as long as it won't over rev the engine.

I disagree. I've manually downshifted quite a bit when not in tow/haul with negligible brake effect. Ford says in the superduty diesel engine supplement:

Integrated Engine Braking
This feature increases engine braking at
higher engine speeds to provide better
grade descent control with less brake and
transmission wear and tear.
This feature is integrated with the tow/haul
mode feature. When tow/haul mode is
switched on, the integrated engine braking
feature will also be active. For more
information on tow/haul, see Automatic
transmission operation in the Owner
Manual.

That's it.

 

[jnbhobe]

If that's the case the engine braking on my 2011 sucked big time, my 2015 has an engine brake button on the dash, we'll see how that works when I take it out of storage in the spring.

 

[porthole]

If that's the case the engine braking on my 2011 sucked big time, my 2015 has an engine brake button on the dash, we'll see how that works when I take it out of storage in the spring.

Your new truck is a bit different Jon, thanks to the new turbo design. How was the ride home?

 

[jnbhobe]

Ride was about like the SRW maybe better, was only 15 mi. in the slush, then I had to wash it before I put it in storage. Storage for insurance is till the middle of Feb. but I won't take it out till the snow is gone. I have to be in Elkhart the first week in April.

 

[Gaffer]

Just curious, where did you find a 15% grade?

It is a great illusion! Honestly, there is more cr.p on these boards sometimes. Our 2014 F350 uses its fake engine/exhaust braking to go down lots of 5 and 10 mile steep slopes pulling our 14,000 lb BH. Somehow the illusion prevents the real brakes from overheating and losing grip. Since we will not be pulling more than our "light" trailer, I guess we will never learn what we are missing. Here in the West, we traverse several mountain passes for each trip. No way conventional brakes will survive alone. Maybe the 2014's ability to go down steep hills is due to our belief it can do it. Isn't that how "illusions" work?

Seriously, jake brakes are illegal around here. I personally don't care how Ford does it. I do care that just tapping the brake in tow/haul mode immediately gives me strong illusionary braking that holds our speed right where we want it. This works on 10 and 15% grades, which is the typical situation here. I am not a truck driver. My car is a 2013 Mustang GT with the Ford Racing performance pack. It's engine braking is very poor, but it goes quite well on a track. When I drive the F350 I feel in complete control and I never have to ride the brake.

 

[travelin2]

Come to central PA and I can show you some 12% grades on State Routes over the mountains.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SeattleLion]

Just curious, where did you find a 15% grade?

On our trip to Yellowstone across the Grand Tetons.