Anyone HAPPY with Borg Warner 44-44 / Auto 4WD

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Murphy Slaw

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There is another thread where the consensus seems to be negative, but I'm considering a Big Horn in the future and was curious. There should be thousands of them out there by now racking up some serious miles, and many of you live up further North than me, and are sure to see more snow, ice, and thawing mud than I do.

I do hunt and own some land with literally NO road, and use my truck for a truck, but hate to be stuck with the limited packages with the "locking" system and was just curious how it's working out for people who actually own them and work with them.
 

WilliamS

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I love it so far, but Im not in a snow/ice state. So far Ive been off road with zero issues in some slick stuff that needed 4wd to get me out. Once I stopped moving forward I used the 4auto to try it out, pulled out without issue. I see a lot of complaints about it locking in 4lock and 4low. Again ive been stuck enough in 2wd in swampy ground that required 4x4 for forward motion and it was like I wasnt stuck at all. On top of that I do not have a limited slip so it really needed to do some work to get me moving.

I will say in the rain in 4auto I get full traction. I have a long straight driveway. In 2wd in the rain itll spin forever at full power just goofing off. In 4auto I cant get any spin.

I did on some lose sand pull apart a house for fun with a 50 foot strap. Put in 4low, and it was spinning front a rear tires with very little throttle in the sand. I did pull the front porch off before it was just easier to go at it with saws and hammers.

Long story short, for what I need and described above its perfect. If you are a hardcore rock crawler or on ice where you need 100% power making it to a certain tire I can not test for you. In lose sand, mucky rain drenched garbage, and so on, not a single time where I thought my 4auto or 4lock wasnt doing its job. Sounds like you will have mostly the same situations I have you will have no issue. Mine stays in 4auto 60% of the time highway or not. Love it for bad weather.

And for what its worth, tires make all the difference on ice. Ive been in 4wds with the wrong tires and no traction, and 2wds with proper tires for ice and wondered how I lived without them.
 
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clh1220

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What he said ^^^^^^^^^. I mainly just use 4 auto,no issues. You can take off in the rain and it won't spin.just hooks and go.
 

MikeEMT

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Only had mine for one full winter thus far, but I was pleasantly surprised having come from a 4runner Trail, had no issues whatsoever either using 4auto or 4lock. No off road use though, snow, ice and rain only.
 

savage_46

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My 16 is the most I've ever used an auto t-case. I've had mine in 4 auto all winter. When it's not needed, I get around just fine. When it is needed, I can sometimes feel it engage. I think 4 lock seems to work a bit better, but don't like the binding in turns. 4 lock also seems to allow a little more wheel slip & yaw before traction control kicks in, but I haven't played around too much. I'm running I pike tires with new studs.
 

develand

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Just got my 16 big horn crew and have not used it. I do live in KC though so it may come in handy soon.
 

tripleplay

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I personally love the auto function. Use it all the time in the PNW. Rain or snow - doesn't skip a beat.
 
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Csanders1992

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Sure the transfer functions and will fit most people's needs. When you actually use it hard is when you'll see it screw up. Some people it doesn't even require that. The problem is the method of engagement. They basically use clutches to lock the front to the rear wheels, and they like to slip.
A good compromise would be an outdoorsman. The interior is the same and it would be very easy to make the outside look the same. Just make sure it's a monotone outdoorsman


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ColdCase

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I think the biggest issue with these cases is that they don't lock into 4WD unless you are moving or spinning tires enough to tickle the speedometer. So you need some wheel spin from a stop to engage. Thats fine for 99%, but for those that don't want wheel spin at all for certain truck type uses, it can be frustrating. That may be OK for 4WD auto, but 4L is not locked either when stopped. Hence you see those youtube videos where a wheel is spinning on a truck thats standing still.

As mentioned, if you use it hard the clutches can heat up and slip and other bad things.
 

Hemi395

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So far mine has done what I need it to do. I do have beaches near me that people drive on with 4x4s and I will admit I'm hesitant to bring my truck out there because of all the horror stories of this tcase.

With that said, after doing some research me and another member on here have determined that the fluid for the BW 44-44 is nothing more than Dexron III. I have been running Amsoil Multi Vehicle ATF in mine and so far its been fine.

If you're still in warranty however, I would recommend sticking with the Mopar fluid.
 
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Murphy Slaw

Murphy Slaw

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I've had mine in 4 auto all winter. When it's not needed, I get around just fine. When it is needed, I can sometimes feel it engage. I think 4 lock seems to work a bit better, but don't like the binding in turns. 4 lock also seems to allow a little more wheel slip & yaw before traction control kicks in, but I haven't played around too much.


Man, I'm gonna say someone from Alaska is going to be a real good "tester" for this transfer case.
 

VB712

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I have zero issues with mine. I'd love to change the fluid but I refuse to pay the price for the mopar stuff they say is "needed".
 

Upthewazzu

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This is my second winter with my '15 Big Horn and I've had zero issues so far. When the weather is awful (like it was on Tuesday) I put it in 4wd lock, otherwise it's in Auto and it works great with the stock tires that I had siped at Les Schwab. For reference we've had about 8" of snow since Tuesday morning.
 

jasonw

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4 Auto and 4 Lock did not work well for me with factory cheapo tires. On older trucks that actually had a true 4-Lock, I used to "get by" with OEM cheapo tires (until they were wore out, then I'd buy better ones) and engage 4-Lock more often. However, with a good set of all terrains (and I also put 350 lbs of sand tubes in the back, as that is my preference), this transfer case works quite well in deep snow.
 

PCT

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Nub question, mine only has 4 lock 4 low, whats the difference between 4 lock and auto4

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clh1220

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Yours locks into 4 wd, and stays locked in. You have to make sure you are on a slick surface. Your front end will bind turning on dry pavement in 4wd. The auto 4 wd will only kick in when the rear tire loses traction. So you can leave it in 4 auto.
 

Gump

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I got by fine in 4 lock with crappy Hercules highway tires when we took the truck out shooting a week ago. Was all snow covered dirt trails and grass. Just put it in 4 auto today to see how well it functions, and it's pretty seamless.

Has anyone every broken one of the t-cases? My parents' Navigator (03 5.4L) lives in auto
4wd half the year, and it has 200K miles with no drivetrain trouble. Not too worried about burning the clutches so long as it has good fluid and it's not abused.
 

sandawilliams

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I got by fine in 4 lock with crappy Hercules highway tires when we took the truck out shooting a week ago. Was all snow covered dirt trails and grass. Just put it in 4 auto today to see how well it functions, and it's pretty seamless.

Has anyone every broken one of the t-cases? My parents' Navigator (03 5.4L) lives in auto
4wd half the year, and it has 200K miles with no drivetrain trouble. Not too worried about burning the clutches so long as it has good fluid and it's not abused.

Those navigators and their sister expeditions are truly tanks. Good for 300,000 miles + with little extraordinary maintenance.
 

Csanders1992

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Not all transfer cases that have the auto selection suck like this one. My 07 Chevy 1500 had 4wd auto and it would truly lock together in 4hi and 4low. As did the early 4th gens with the auto function


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