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JAMMAN wrote:
Large semi trucks use an engine brake. Imagine the stress on the rods.
I am unqualified for an opinion, all the manual cars I had I used the regular brakes so I wouldn't know the effect on the clutch.
That is different. The drive-train in a diesel is built up a lot more than a gas engine to handle the pressures. Diesels are typically 16:1 compression with a turbo charger on top of it. The Jake brake turns off the injectors and opens exhaust valves in the cylinders after the compression cycle, releasing the compressed air trapped in the cylinders and slowing the vehicle. It is a lot less stress on the engine than running at 2k RPM.
The clutch pack in a tractor is also a lot beefier as is the transmission. If you have seen the trucks hauling a load through the mountains when they are going down the other side they are usually in 1 lower gear on the way down than they used going up because their brakes will fail if they tried to brake there way down. BTW: a 60k lb load on a 6% grade running 55 mph cannot stop with just their brakes and they will burn out fairly quickly. That is why you see trucks running 40mph riding the jake brake going down hill.
A lot of modern 1 ton diesels come with built in engine brakes too.
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