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

[LouM]

I think I'll try and get the replacement hub from George for the clutch.
Unless someone really looks the warrenty should be good.

 

[Moparman16]

This is the best news I've heard in weeks!!
Guess I'll be hunting down a 44-45 now...

So in Alfa all you had to change is the BCM setting to "BW44-46" and then put the correct switch in the dash?

Yes, that’s all I had to do. I don’t even know if the 44-45 switch is needed

 

[Hemi395]

Well damn I'm in a good mood now! Don't know if I'll pull the trigger on a 44-45 yet as my 44-44 has worked fine so far. But it's really nice to know there's an option to swap it to a 44-45 if needed.

Thank you sir for pioneering this!

 

[Moparman16]

Well damn I'm in a good mood now! Don't know if I'll pull the trigger on a 44-45 yet as my 44-44 has worked fine so far. But it's really nice to know there's an option to swap it to a 44-45 if needed.

Thank you sir for pioneering this!

No problem! I’m just thrilled that my truck can do what I want it to do

 

[Hemi395]

So @Moparman16 do all the electrical connectors from the 44-44 just plug into the 44-45?

 

[Moparman16]

So @Moparman16 do all the electrical connectors from the 44-44 just plug into the 44-45?

Yes, it is plug and play. The trucks harness actually connects to the encoder motor, no to the transfer case directly. The transfer case has a single pinned wire that gets put into connector for the encoder motor. It kinda hard to explain but it is literally impossible to screw up.

 

[Moparman16]

Here is a picture of a 44-44 and 44-45 side by side that I got online. It may help visualize what I said.

 

[ColdCase]

I was under the impression that the front axle disconnect is engaged all the time in 4auto it's just the Tcase doesn't engage the clutch to power the front wheels until it detects rear wheel spin...

Edit: just remembered with the key on engine off, I can hear the disconnect engaging if I put it in 4 Auto...

I wish I could find the document I was reading back in September. May have been on techauthority. I do recall that there were some differences between years, I was looking at 2016. So tell be again what is the difference between 4Auto and 4Lock besides the indicators that light up on the switch?

 

[Moparman16]

Just a follow up...

I drove out to a friends bush camp last night. Truck did fantastic through the deep snow and shifts in and out of all 4wd modes perfectly. I plugged the AlfaOBD back into the truck and no faults are being generated as a result of the swap. I don’t know what I’m more impressed about, how glitch free the AlfaOBD works or how easy the swap went.

If you have any other things you want me to verify with the swap let me know. I am planning on doing a write up sometime today or tomorrow and starting a new thread with all of the details in one spot.

 

[chrisbh17]

If you dare...have you tried the 44-44 switch with the 44-45 xfer case?

If so, what does 4-Auto do to the 44-45?

Not sure its an experiment you want to try if you havent already, but Im curious (since the switch is one glaringly obvious clue that the transfer case has been changed)

 

[LouM]

As a guess and a hope it should engage the front axle disconnect, acting like locking the hubs on an old unit. If it does it would make an on the fly shift to lock nice.

 

[Moparman16]

If you dare...have you tried the 44-44 switch with the 44-45 xfer case?

If so, what does 4-Auto do to the 44-45?

Not sure its an experiment you want to try if you havent already, but Im curious (since the switch is one glaringly obvious clue that the transfer case has been changed)

I haven’t tried the 44-44 switch because I don’t have it anymore. I gave it to a friend who needed a new one because the lights on his didn’t work. Guess a I should have hung onto it.

 

[chrisbh17]

Darn, oh well.

If my 44-44 ever blows up Ill consider the swap at that time. Although maybe Im running with a defective 44-44 and just dont know it

 

[Neumie]

Wondering what folks think about snow chains on rear of a truck with the 44-44? If they limit spin to a large extent I would guess that the front would not engage into 4wd.

I realize that wheel spacers may be needed to clear the chains but haven’t gotten this confirmed.

 

[LouM]

It will actually help it work, the chains give traction to the rear which increases the clamping force the cam applies to the clutch.
So even though the chains almost negate the need for 4wd it helps apply it.
Been there done that, I have dropped to a 245/75R17 which allows room for rear chains.
So much fun to apply in a ice storm

 

[Hemi395]

I wish I could find the document I was reading back in September. May have been on techauthority. I do recall that there were some differences between years, I was looking at 2016. So tell be again what is the difference between 4Auto and 4Lock besides the indicators that light up on the switch?

From what I understand this is the difference between 4Auto and 4Lock on the 44-44:


4Auto engages the front axle disconnect and has variable engagement of the clutch (up to 100% engaged) to the front wheels depending on rear wheel spin. However it still requires the ball ramp setup to engage.

4Lock engages the clutch 100% but it still requires the ball ramp to engage before the front wheels have power.

Theorectically, I would think 4Auto is harder on the clutches because they're not fully engaged when the ball ramp spins up. I still don't understand why the ball ramp is even necessary in this Tcase.

 

[crash68]

4Auto engages the front axle disconnect and has variable engagement of the clutch (up to 100% engaged) to the front wheels depending on rear wheel spin. However it still requires the ball ramp setup to engage.

4Lock engages the clutch 100% but it still requires the ball ramp to engage before the front wheels have power.

Theorectically, I would think 4Auto is harder on the clutches because they're not fully engaged when the ball ramp spins up. I still don't understand why the ball ramp is even necessary in this Tcase.

The ramp and ball is what engages the clutch pack. The difference between 4X4 Auto and Lock is programming, Lock is supposed to engage faster but there is no physical "lock up"
Without the ramp and ball clutch set up you have a part-time transfer case like the BW 44-45

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

Well i’ve got good news and bad news.


First with the bad news...

Your wives will be pissed when they find out you are going to be buying a 44-45 case for your truck for Christmas


The good news....IT WORKED!!



I changed the t-case type to “BW44-46 with synchro” and got no warnings at all. Then when I checked the system ID for the t-case type it showed BW44-45, BW 44-46 with synchro and about 5 other transfer cases model numbers. Started the truck up and tested all of the modes. Everything worked perfect. For the final test I shifted the truck into 4Low and then back to 2wd. I then climbed underneath and verified that the front drive shaft spins freely in 2wd.

Been so busy with work I haven’t had time to check back in but this is THE BEST NEWS EVER!!!!!!!!

You can’t see it but I’m doing my ridiculously stupid happy dance right now!!!!

Big thank you to you sir for running with this experiment.

 

[Hemi395]

The ramp and ball is what engages the clutch pack. The difference between 4X4 Auto and Lock is programming, Lock is supposed to engage faster but there is no physical "lock up"
Without the ramp and ball clutch set up you have a part-time transfer case like the BW 44-45

Correct, but electronically the clutch is being commanded to be in full engagement in 4Lock whereas in 4Auto its being dynamically commanded an engagement based on rear wheel spin.

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

Of course the next question ‘cuz we’re never satisfied..........anyone attempted the Alpha software on the Gen5 trucks? I’d Love to grab a 5th Gen without having to buy a Rebel to get the tcase I want. The selectable rear locker and full bench in the back with a flat floor and extra legroom is VERY appealing to me!