Wiring a switch to activate the exhaust back pressure valve
 

I read in another thread on here where someone suggested wiring a switch to activate the exhaust back pressure valve. My question is- is this an advisable route to take in lieu of installing an exhaust brake? I've got a 2000 F350 crew cab Lariat 4x4 that I often pull my 14'x7' dump trailer with, which is either full of concrete, rock, dirt, or my Kubota skidsteer. All suggestions are appreciated, thanx,
Greg

It's not as effective as an actual exhaust brake but it does work.
Not advised on automatics unless they have been rebuilt with one of the clutches upgraded, maybe the reverse one?

Thanx bud, I appreciate the info. I'm all for hacks/tricks that can be effective or useful without having to spend a lot of money. My transmission was built for the towing that I do, nothing major just my dump trailer with my Kubota skidsteer, which total around 12.5k lbs, also because I'm running a tuner. The transmission shop installed a new Ford remanufactured 4R100 transmission and a premium billett torque converter about a year ago, however they didn't put enough fluid in it and they filled it with MERCON, not MERCON V. They only put 13 or 14 quarts of trans fluid in it. I didn't check it as I'd only driven it 7k miles when I lost reverse and it was acting up. So they had to build it the way I wanted, I got a billet triple disc torque converter and a new 3 year/36k mile warranty. The remanufactured transmission they put in first only had a 12m/12k mile warranty.
However, even tho I have an upgraded transmission, if I think I need more help stopping in the future, I'll get an exhaust brake.
Shortcuts are usually asking for disasters anyway lol.
Thanx again.

What tuner do you have? I have a DP Tuner F5 with a dedicated decel tune. That closes the exhaust valve and cranks up the transmission pressure to lock down the clutches so the engine braking is transmitted to the wheels.

Point is just adding an exhaust brake or a switch on the valve does not change how the transmission behaves. Need tuning for that, and as far as I know only DP sells that because everyone else is afraid the increased backpressure will float the exhaust valves w/o stronger springs. I've used the decel tune many times when towing my 5er without a problem.

And your tranny sounds far more built than mine, lessening the potential damage.

Good info, thanx. I've got the tuner/programmer that came with the truck when I bought it. It's a Edge Evolution. It seems pretty old in regards to the technology and it takes awhile to change the tunes. I'm actually looking for a better replacement. Hopefully one that allows for settings to be changed on the fly. Not sure yet what the best one's available are. Any tips would be great.

I still have a manually switched ebpv brake setup on motorbug. It was the design from way back when tuning was in it's infancy. 1 switch manually locks the TC, momentary switch controlling the ebpv.

It functioned satisfactorily while the truck was hot shotting the last quarter million miles before I got the truck. (P.o. was a member here on the forum).

I disabled it since I do not generally tow heavy... And the TC lockup switch was a pita. It would stay locked until the key was shut off and the truck restarted.

I was not very impressed with the "snake brake" toon from Dee pee. Granted, the only truck I drove with that toon was "Stinky" (forum brother Tugly's rig)... But at the time that truck was very healthy.

Good info, thanx. I've got the tuner/programmer that came with the truck when I bought it. It's a Edge Evolution. It seems pretty old in regards to the technology and it takes awhile to change the tunes. I'm actually looking for a better replacement. Hopefully one that allows for settings to be changed on the fly. Not sure yet what the best one's available are. Any tips would be great.

Most popular out there these days is the Hydra. There is a library of tunes to choose from, plus you can get all tunes via email, no need to pull the chip. I want to give it a shot someday, once I get bigger injectors. Good luck finding a decel tune there.

That said if you want a exhaust brake for cheap the tunes you have now are not at all "bad", just need to add EBPV functionality in a reliable way. Your trans sounds like it's capable.