For starters, it's not a true exhaust brake but the turbo adjustable valve closing creating the back pressure. Also, the engine brake ordinances are for heavy duty trucks, anything under 1.5 tons rating is considered a light duty truck, no matter what your tailgate says.

I run mine on my 14 all the time. A good friend is a Cummins mechanic and said it doesn't hurt anything and keeps the valve moving. Same theory as using your 4x4 10 miles per 1,000 as mentioned in your owners manual.

Tell that to the cops in Corrigan, Dibol, Moscow, Bay City, Wharton, etc. the signs say "No Engine Braking", not "No Engine Braking for 18 wheelers only".

"Engine brake" and "exhaust brake" are 2 completely different things that somewhat achieve the same thing. They both create extra back pressure to slow a vehicle , but in different ways.

An engine brake works on the valves, keeping them closed longer, and this creates that LOUD popping that everybody associates with 18-wheelers.

An exhaust brake is typically down stream of the turbo, and is a butterfly valve that will close, creating back pressure, and is not very loud at all.

On the Cummins, they use an exhaust brake, but it is designed into the variable geometry turbo, and is the least effective of the 3 styles, but is still plenty for what these trucks are.

I'd love to explain the difference of each to one of those officers

when using the exhaust brake, what component is stressed the most....... Answer is the engine & transmission (and it's clutches). They have to absorb the energy (heat)that the brakes normally generate when slowing/stopping. The transmission takes the brunt of the heat that is generated. we all know that heat is the enemy of transmissions. the clutches in a transmission are coated with "friction material". while not the exact material used for the friction material in a brake pad, it serves the same purpose (to grab on to the metal plates in the clutch stack in the transmission).

now when those friction materials wear out, your transmission starts to slip, and you have to get it rebuilt. This is a very expensive prospect on our 3/4 and 1 ton trucks with the big transmissions. Now compare that to the cost of new pads, and a brake job on your truck, then ask yourself...... If I don't need the exhaust brake for normal driving, why would I subject my expensive engine and transmission to this additional wear and tear when my realatively inexpensive brakes do the job just fine and were engineered to do this job. And remember, there is a clutch at work inside every modern lock up torque converter. So that clutch is also getting worked hard when the exhaust brake is engaged.

An exhaust brake was designed for use on downward sloping grades where you don't want to have to ride your brakes in order to keep from building up too much speed. The risk is that you overheat your brakes, and then can't stop. Of course this is much worse when towing near the max GVWR of our trucks. So just like the big rigs, the OEM's added engine braking years ago (my 2002 duramax/allison has this). Then as the GVWR of our trucks grew over the years, they needed to add more than just the rotating mass, and compression braking provided by the engine. So then they added the exhaust brake to the engines turbo in order to make the engine provide more engine braking.

BUT you only need it when towing!!, or your going down that huge grade in the mountains and don't want to ride your brakes while not towing. But here in TX that is not much terrain that provides the need for grade braking.

When towing on flat land, the exhaust brake just adds to the abundant braking that our vehicles possess, and allows you to brake in shorter distances in emergencies. So save some wear and tear on your transmission and don't use the exhaust brake for every day driving. You don't need it for towing your bass boat either. But as mentioned in some of the replies above, give it a work out every 1000 miles just to keep it exercised. and no exhaust brakes do not clean your turbo. pulling 12K loads and driving your EGT's up into the 1000F range burns any carbon off the inducer wheel of the turbo, not 150F air being pumped by the motor when it's being used as an exhaust brake.

And most (not all), know less about any given vehicle than what you find in the owners manual.

when using the exhaust brake, what component is stressed the most....... Answer is the engine & transmission (and it's clutches).