I get what you are saying, but I also am one of the few who had issues with this transfer case. In 4wd if you are turning the steering wheel the clutch pressure is decreased. You are going to say it's impossible I'm sure, but that came directly from the engineers who designed the 4wd system on these trucks. When that happens the clutch will start to slip and then overheat, mine did it many times and they said it was operating as designed and if I wanted to take my truck off road at all I should buy a truck with a different transfer case. As for the torque rating, no one is taking into account the transfer case itself. So a stock hemi puts out 407 foot lbs., times that by 1st gear which is 4.71, times that by low range which is 2.64 and you get a grand total of 5060 foot lbs of torque. Divide that by 2 because it is split 50/50 theoretically and you get 2530 foot pounds that can potentially be sent through that clutch. That's also assuming there are no power adding mods.
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Your right that under certain circumstances more torque could be transmitted through the clutch than its rated for.
Keep in mind that in order to produce peak torque, and transmit it through the transfer case, you'd be at full throttle AND the engine would @ 4400rpm, AND the wheels all having solid traction. Under those circumstances, you could perhaps break things.
As for the clutch releasing when you turn the wheels, I obviously can't cross examine the person you spoke with to determine how this occurs, I can only attest to the parts I personally observe to be present in the transfer case, and how they interact with each other.
My education is in mechanical engineering.
I can theorize though, on some failure modes. I'll assume the most likely part to wear out (the clutch pack) has worn out, and describe as best I can the failure mode:
Let's say the truck with a worn out transfer case clutch pack, is in 4 auto, driving on dry pavement. In this case, the engine torque is transmitted to the rear wheels and pushes the truck along the roadway. The roadway moving under the front wheels causes them to rotate at about the same speed as the rear wheels, and the ball ramp does nothing.
Now, the driver stops at an icy intersection, then attempts to drive away, and the rear tires spin. The computer senses the rear wheel spin, and sends current to the electromagnetic clutch.
The worn out electromagnetic clutch, even though being squeezed by a small amount of force from a set of electromagnets, keeps slipping because the friction material on the friction plates is glazed and burned. The torsion spring would continue to rotate the friction plate basket and without sufficient friction resistance in the electromagnetic clutch, the ball ramp would never engage. The continuous slipping would cause further burning and glazing of the friction material, increasing the mode of failure.
The behavior would manifest in the same manner in 4 lock.
So, in summary: the function of the entire system is entirely dependant on the initial friction (grabbing force) of the electromagnetic clutch.
Once the clutch pack wears to the point of slipping under the force of the electromagnetic clutch, it will stop getting the full clamping force of the ball ramp and complete failure will be imminent.
Knowing this, I'll make sure I never test the system by holding the brake and throttle at the same time!
Another potential mode of failure would me a mass-moment-inertia shock to the emclutch. To describe a situation that could cause this:
Your in a 4wd mode (lock or auto) and spinning all 4 wheels at high rpm, on a surface suck as mud or ice. Then, with all 4 wheels spinning at high speed, the front wheels encounter dry pavement and stop suddenly with the rear wheels still spinning.
In this case, the ball ramp would engage violently and the rotating mass of the rear wheels would send a couple tens of thousands of ft lbs of torque through the clutch pack. They clutch plates would absolutely slip, and do so while under tremendous load. This would likely burn and glaze the friction material, and ensure that the any further use result in the first failure mode manifesting itself.
Again, as I already own this truck and am not in a position to replace it, I'll make sure to never put it in this situation.
An easy fix, is if we could find a source to replace the clutch plates. Their replacement is relatively easy, and it's obviously a consumable part, like brake pads. I don't understand why a can't seem to find replacements online anywhere. Mopar seems to insist on only selling replacement transfer cases, rather than replacement parts.
The 44-04 and 44-05 use clutch plates that are available anywhere, cheap. I wonder if they are interchangeable?
