Hey diesel jocks question

[Powderboy]

I bought a 1996 7.3 Ford a few weeks ago. The previous owner put an exhaust brake on it. Someone told me using it will take out my torque converter. True?

 

[Bad Daddy]

Yes and no.... if they put a torque converter lock on it, no. If they didnt, it might...
The reason is, that going down hill, you now have this load pushing you down hill, the exhaust brake is trying to slow the engine which is coupled to the trans... if the torque converter is not locked up, then you'll build up a lot of heat, and in the end it could limit the life of the torque converter...
look at BD and see what they have, or Banks, or Pac Brake... they all offer something to help in that situation.

 

[JJFlash]

Yes and no.... if they put a torque converter lock on it, no. If they didnt, it might...
The reason is, that going down hill, you now have this load pushing you down hill, the exhaust brake is trying to slow the engine which is coupled to the trans... if the torque converter is not locked up, then you'll build up a lot of heat, and in the end it could limit the life of the torque converter...
look at BD and see what they have, or Banks, or Pac Brake... they all offer something to help in that situation.

BINGO.....A simple switch to manually lock the converter should be easy on the Ford. You might even be able to relay it so it would lock whenever the exhaust brake is triggered, but the converter would be free to operate normally at all other times.

 

[Powderboy]

Thanks guys! I bought the truck from a dealer so I didnt get to talk to the previous owner but everything on this truck was done right. It has a really trick looking BD trans pan, some kind of Banks intercooler kit, and tons of extra tranny coolers and a huge fan mounted next to the tranny. Maybe this guy already did the job right. Any idea how I would check to see if the converter is locked?