BE44-44 transfer case oil

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kanatachris

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Searched this and several other forums for some advice on 2014 BW44-44 transfer case oil. Dealer wants $50 a quart. Anyone find a suitable aftermarket synthetic product? People talk about a Napa Valvoline synthetic oil and a Red Line product but the info is really hit and miss with no indications they actually meet the Dodge standards. Thoughts?
 

Burla

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I forget which one @Hemi395 uses if it is d6 or c+ for the redline option, c+ is a little thicker, still thin compared to gear fluid. I do believe he has also tried amsoil multi vehicle. Hopefully he can chime in with options, all the ones he has tried. He tows heavy as well, even up the ike. Yeah don't buy that mopar stuff, just over priced under performing stuff.
 

Hemi395

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The Mopar BW44-44 fluid is essentially a high quality Dexron 3 ATF. It even smells just like Dex 3. I've tried both Redline C+ and Amsoil MVATF in addition to the Mopar unicorn tear fluid, my 44-44 worked perfectly with all three. I dont think it matters as much as FCA says it does lol.

If you want something that offically meets the Borgwarner specs the only thing is the Mopar fluid. The next best thing I've found is the Amsoil MVATF which meets the Dex 3 specs and Amsoil backs it up with their own warranty.

If you really want your 44-44 to actually lock in 4WD PM me.
 

Elkman

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AC Delco transfer case fluid sells for $10.32 a quart. Not surprising that your dealer is trying to screw you. The MOPAR fluid sells for $22.80 a quart.

Dealers make most of their profits from selling parts and service as with the tremendous markup to sell a quart of fluid for $50. Having fluids changed at the dealers has always been far more expensive than buying them yourself, even if you have to pay to have the fluid changed out.
 

HEMIMANN

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The Mopar BW44-44 fluid is essentially a high quality Dexron 3 ATF. It even smells just like Dex 3. I've tried both Redline C+ and Amsoil MVATF in addition to the Mopar unicorn tear fluid, my 44-44 worked perfectly with all three. I dont think it matters as much as FCA says it does lol.

If you want something that offically meets the Borgwarner specs the only thing is the Mopar fluid. The next best thing I've found is the Amsoil MVATF which meets the Dex 3 specs and Amsoil backs it up with their own warranty.

If you really want your 44-44 to actually lock in 4WD PM me.

Thought you'd said there was some slippage with Red Line C+ ATF ? Then went to Amsoil MVATF?
 

Hemi395

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Thought you'd said there was some slippage with Red Line C+ ATF ? Then went to Amsoil MVATF?
Originally I tried C+ and it acted the same as the Moapr Unicorn Tears. Then next change I went to Amsoil MVATF and the the clutches felt like it took a bit longer to grab. I wasnt comfortable with that so I switched it back to C+. Ran that for a while. I still had 2 of the of the Amsoil in the easy packs and I wanted to use up so I threw that in. It's been in my tcase ever since and has acted normal.

I don't know what that as about when I first tried the Amsoil, I'm assuming the mix of that and residual Unicorn Tears? In the future I'll probably just run C+ since I have a bunch of it.
 

Burla

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What is the number a dealer can use that would force someone to trying something other then overpriced fluids? Maybe 80 a qrt, how about 100? ZF8 fluid same thing, if you look at the stats it isnt even what they say as in pao based. But yet guys still buy that stuff. Auto manu's are experts and pulling money out of peoples pockets. Yes mopar fluid costs more, but you get less. Its the bad choice.
 

OutpostRam

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Dealer wants nearly $50/quart for the tranny fluid that goes into the transfer case. Our Shoppers store here in Arizona carries the full line of Amsoil on the shelf. $17.99/quart. Meets/exceeds the requirements of the Mopar fluid, for about half the cost!!
 

ram1500rsm

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I have STP ATF+4 in my transfer case , not a single issue since 2020 when i changed the fluid myself. I have the 44-44 TC. $9 per bottle from Autozone.
 

Brent 1955

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Searched this and several other forums for some advice on 2014 BW44-44 transfer case oil. Dealer wants $50 a quart. Anyone find a suitable aftermarket synthetic product? People talk about a Napa Valvoline synthetic oil and a Red Line product but the info is really hit and miss with no indications they actually meet the Dodge standards. Thoughts?
I run Valvoline transfer case oil in my ram 3500 HD and have the same transfer case for 200,000 miles so far. I change it every100000 miles. I like it.
 

Brent 1955

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Dealer wants nearly $50/quart for the tranny fluid that goes into the transfer case. Our Shoppers store here in Arizona carries the full line of Amsoil on the shelf. $17.99/quart. Meets/exceeds the requirements of the Mopar fluid, for about half the cost!!
But also how many miles are on that transfer case. Because even though I love Amsoil products I can't use it in my high mileage ram.
 

stets

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Anyone ever use valvoline dex/Merc atf? Supposed to be an exact replacement
 

Lsujker

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Long as the transfer case has quality/clean fluid, I would not worry so much about the brand of fluid or cost. Mechanically they are simple and strong. keep it lubed.
 

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Jeepwalker

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You're probably right that there's a little leeway on the type of fluid (ultimately). #2, a lot of small town family dealers will sell fluid right out of their bulk barrels ...if you bring in your own container/s. I know two around here which do (plus a GM dealer too) ...and the cost is considerably less. That's what I do. You have to contact the parts dept. Call a couple small dealers. Larger dealers will just laugh at the idea.

#3, I have a great transfer case story ...I'll try to be brief (some of you might have read this): Years ago we planned an "out-west" family vacation. Just going from the WI area to the Black Hills Area (incl Devil's Tower WY) and back. A trip we've done several times over the yrs. 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Select-Trac transfer case. What is that ...a 232? It's a distant decendent of what's in the Rams. That's about a 2000-2200 mile R/T Journey (~3200km) including all the side trips. Before leaving I checked & topped off all fluids *except* the xfer case ...because it started to rain and vehicle was outside and I didn't want to lay on my back in the rain (hint -- I should have!). I vowed to throw the big wrench in and check it at the hotel the next morning. Anyway, with smiles on our faces we headed out to our journey.

Well to move the story along, we had a great time on the family/kids vacation, weather was mostly great, and, although a nagging voice in the back of my head kept telling me to check the fluid every day, something always came up and I didn't. Even though I knew I should have. When I got home ...guess what the first thing I did was? I pulled the upper plug and stuck in a piece of wire. Nothing. Then I flipped the wire and put the long end in -- Nothing. Hmm... strange. Pulled the bottom plug ......and literally no more than 3 teaspoons of fluid trickled (and I do MEAN trickled) out into the pan. It made a pool of fluid about 5-6" in diameter (~15cm)!

Now you'd think it would be toast! I just drove a thousand miles only making bathroom/food breaks to get home with virtually NO fluid in it! LOL. It wasn't super hot. The output bearings weren't excessively sloppy. Being it was Sunday and my wife needed it for getting to work in the AM, I put Dextron III (suggested fluid) in it and crossed my fingers. Oh, and I forgot to mention, the Jeep Grand Cherokee already had about 230k mi on the odometer (368k Km). I changed the fluid again after a week.

End of the story is, she drove the vehicle several more years w/o problems or noises. At about 300k mi (480k KM) , the pinion bearing needed to be changed. At that time ..out of curiosity I pulled the transfer case off the tranny and pull it apart. I've rebuilt several transfer cases over the years, I expected to see blue shafts, chipped teeth, a stretched chain and probably a bunch of shavings. I saw NONE of that! Nothing was blue or chipped -- it looked like freekin new inside. I'm not joking. Other than the usual fuzz of iron dust on the magnet. The output shaft bearings were still relatively tight. There was literally no reason to do anything to it ...so I put it back together. She ran the vehicle until about 335k mi (536k Km) ...and at that point rust was getting the better part and we bought a newer Jeep.

Yeah I was amazed. If that's not a torture test, IDK what is. The oil pickup tube is at the very bottom of xfer case ...and that's probably what kept it from seizing up (??).

Sorry for the long story but I think it shows that there's a lot of tolerance level for fluids ..or lack of.


[Edit:] Whoops, it's a 231 transfer case in 1995.
 
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