I have a Banks Brake (exhaust brake) on my 2001 PowerStroke. The vaccum pump which powers the unit has now failed for the second time in as many years. Since the warranty (which covered the first failure) is only for one year, I am looking for a pump that would be adequate for this purpose and somewhat less expensive than the seemingly gold-plated piece of garbage that Banks supplies. Any thoughts or suggestions on where I might look for a replacement?

Thanks in advance for the help?

Other than the pump failures, I am very happy with the Banks Brake. I have traveled extensively through the mountains of VA and WV, and have yet to find a hill that requires the use of my service brakes whn I gear down at the top. With a 4200 pound camper for cargo, that is a lot of peace of mind.

 

Having received no responses to my original post, and wanting the exhaust brake in working condition for an upcoming trip through the mountains of VA, NC and TN, I decided to bite the bullet and call Banks for a replacement pump. I called their tech support number, hoping to discuss possible sources of this pump failure and any corrective actions that I might take to prevent a future recurrence. I talked at length with their tech about the environmental tests that they used, and possibly relocating the air intake for the system inside the cab to eliminate any chance of salt spray from NH's winter roads. In the end, they offered to ship me a new pump under warranty even though the one year warranty expired 20 months back. I do get to pay for the new hose and fittings that I requested for intake relocation, but I can hardly argue with that.

Again, other than the pump, I really like this brake. I have the switch located on the end of my 6 speed shift lever, and use it all the time. When exiting the Interstate which runs near my home, Iwill use the exhaust brake in combination with downshifting, to decelerate from 65, all the way down to 10 or 12 mph before applying my service brakes. At that rate, I'm looking for a couple hundred thousand miles out of the original brake pads.

As far as the increased hp that they claim for the exhaust brake, I couldn't truthfully say, as I had a lot of work done at the same time that the brake was installed (including chip, Banks exhaust, electric fan clutch, etc.) and it would be impossible to say how much power came from which change, but when it was all done, I had better acceleration with that 4200 pound camper than I previously had running empty. I'm satisfied.

Safe miles.