by Failure I meant sticking, and yes they still use them ... there have also been Many class action lawsuits about the issue ..
I have a couple that are so froze up that I can't get them apart to free them up, they would still make a Core IF they aren't inspected pretty well.

I don't consider them a Cheap Reliable Modification.

it's really a problem of how the vehicle is used IMHO.

EDIT: the ones I have are Garrett off GMC, I haven't messed with a 6.0 Ford yet

 

Drop em in a five gallon bucket of diesel, they'll separate after a while.

The gm variants are similar to the garrets on ford. Not identical, but close. Think some share the same shaft/wheel size

 

This, the benefit isnt really there on a properly sized turbo. You can force it to build boost lower than it should, but all youre doing is making massive drive pressure and heat. Theyre failure prone, with most seizing <100k. If theyre were good, the aftermarket wouldnt be chock full of vgt delete kits on everything from small equipment to semi's. The single redeeming fact i can think of is being able to use them as an exhaust brake.

Case in point, compare an sxe 258 vs a he351vgt. The 351 has larger wheels, yet the 258 flows more. The smaller wheels allow for faster spool. Stick a .63 or .70 housing on there with a wastegate and you will spool faster than the he351, lower egts, more power, and more fuel mileage all in a smaller, way more reliable / durable package. Factor in the cost of a real controller thats more than just a servo controlled by a potentiometer, and its cheaper too.

Ive done tons of research on the subject, the more i did, the worse the vgt looked, even though i didnt want to admit it.

 

And an engine brake for IDI is not a good idea either... maybe if you changed out the Hydraulic Lifters to solid, lot of mods there

 

I think youre thinking of something else, i said exhaust brake anyway.

 

no .. when I said engine brake, I meant both styles Compression release or Exhaust Brake .... we Know exactly where Ford stands on the issue, either style brake can cause Valve jacking, yeah I know thousands of folks have done it with no issue.....


EDIT: of course Off hand I don't know of anyone that makes Jake heads for a 6.9/7.3 so I guess Compression release is a moot point for us, but I can see someone doing a GP Delete to convert one to comp release

I wonder how effective dumping compression thru the GP holes via a solenoid valve/valves would be in the first place ????
Use that to power the Train Horn

Anyone remember the old Spark Plug Air Compressors ????

 

Valve to piston clearance is what killed the possibility of getting a jake setup on an idi.

If I was to run a normal exhaust brake I would upgrade the valve springs and double em because why not.

As someone who's got deleted glow plugs the idea is interesting, I wouldn't have a clue how to really set it up though because you don't just want them to open straight up and how you would go about timing the thing would be beyond me. Probably require some kind of crank/cam sensor and a fancy little control box.

Fortunately because of the hilatious compression these motors make they provide good engine braking just by dropping a gear. Even if you have the e40d you could rig a toggle switch up to lock the converter and get a bit more engine braking. Although from what I've read that only makes roughly a 10% difference.

The main reason I want a vgt turbo doesn't have a thing to do with how they're configured stock. I want one that's adjustable depending on driving conditions and load. Something with multiple maps instead of whatever the ecm sets would be sweet.

Boxnoogle had a good point about forcing boost at lower rpms would just increase heat and drive pressure but heat at lower rpms is never my problem. Drive pressure may be counter productive to making power but I don't see it choking down low. It's always up high if the housing is too small.

If I bought any one turbo with any one exhaust housing I'd just have to live with it across all conditions. I'm not a fan of holsets he351ve and I definitely go the 6.0/duramax route. They also happen to be 300-400$ working used condition but every now and then they come up even lower.

 

Have you ever worked on a genuine Jacobs Engine Brake or driven a class 8 truck with one? To design and manufacture an engine brake for a small diesel would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for R&D. You've got complicated cast housings with oil passages and oil/electrically triggered solenoids over each set of valves for each cylinder. You've got cast iron housings around each cyl. head to elevate the valve covers to allow clearance for the Jake assemblies. You've got special rocker arms for the Jake solenoids to contact when it's activated. Then there's the wiring harnesses, micro switch on the clutch linkage and throttle linkage plus dash mounted activation switch. The later systems, 2, 4, or all cylinders could be activated. Valve to piston clearance isn't a problem, it's the same on big diesels as an IDI (flat heads, no combustion chambers), the solenoid pops the exhaust valve off as it approaches TDC so there's no interference.
Why would they? Cylinder heads on all Cummins, Detroit Diesel, and Mack engines are exactly the same, Jake Brake equipped or not.

 

why would they..... Money for 1..... but we don't have mechanical injectors that are fired off the Cam and this is how all the Jakes I have seen work...
we developed the Charlie 'R' back in the late 70's early 80's our test subject was an old Autocar with the supercharged cummins V12, it was some pretty fun times back then

FORD/Navistar asked Jacobs to NOT make brakes for their diesels.

a Standard Cornfigured Jake housing could not really be adapted to our engines in the first place, so yes there would be a lot of R&D to produce a viable system.


EDIT: seems to me IF one really wanted engine braking on a 6.9/7.3 Hydraulic retarder or regenerative retarder would be best way to go... maybe not the cheapest...... Personally I've never had the need and I've run some pretty steep grades with fully loaded TC and pulling a Boat.

 

Just going to throw out there, old work had a 96 stroke with the ebpv converted to use as an exhaust brake, works great, wont exceed 40 psi. Idis have slightly stiffer springs than psd's even. Im not sure if its the cam or what, but my new engine doesnt have the engine braking the old one did, do kinda miss it.

 

I've heard of guys doing that and saying it works pretty slick. Friends have said the "store bought" exhaust brakes work well on pickups too, especially the Cummins in Dodges. Since Jacobs only made engine brakes for the big engines made by Cummins, Mack, and Detroit Diesel, there was a company that made an EXHAUST, not engine, brake for mid-range size diesels called a Blue Ox. I test drove a few dump trucks after working on them that had a Blue Ox and they didn't hardly retard coming down hill at all compared to what guys say about the pickup exhaust brakes.

 

Bud of mine has the BD brake on his 24v, i dont think its quite as good as the psd i was talking about, but the improvement is much better, the 5.9s dont hardly have any braking whatsoever on their own.