My truck supports 2 types of engine brakes:
Compression release brake
Exhaust brake
Both can be selectively deactivated using switches.
What are the pro's and con's of each type of engine braking system?
(considering various factors like component lifetime, effectiveness of brake).
Compression (Jake) Brake
Jake brakes slow a vehicle by releasing pressure
Jake brakes are operated at the valve train.
Jake brakes open the exhaust valve at the top of the compression stroke.
Jake brakes use the compression of the compression stroke to provide gas compression resistance to slow the rear wheels of a vehicle.
Jake brakes are more efficient than exhaust brakes
Jake brakes have mechanisms to disable the braking upon use of the clutch or throttle
Jake brakes release exhaust pressure after TDC to prevent compressed gas expansion from acting upon the piston on the downstroke
Compression Brake
Exhaust brakes increase pressure to slow a vehicle
Exhaust brakes attach to the exhaust system at the manifold
Exhaust brakes block the exhaust gasses from escaping the exhaust manifold to slow a vehicle.
Exhaust brakes have mechanisms to disable them upon use of the clutch or throttle
Jake brakes are considered to be up to 80% more effective than exhaust brakes in creating resistance to slow a vehicle. In many communities in the US Jake brakes are illegal due to the high sound levels that are associated with their use.
Reliability
There are not reliable citations regarding the reliability of the two systems.
Effectiveness
Jake brakes are considered considerably more effective than exhaust brakes. Exhaust brakes have come into popularity as a fall back mechanism as the communities banned jake brakes due high levels of sound associated with them.