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

[smiley]

I've been running Amsoil MVATF in my 44-44 since the beginning of October and mine is working perfectly. I had emailed Amsoil back and forth several times and they assured me this fluid meets the BW 44-44 specs and it would be covered under their warranty. This way I know theres a full synthetic fluid in my tcase that can take high heat operation and at $13/quart, its much cheaper than the Mopar BW 44-44 fluid. The Mopar fluid I'm guessing is not synthetic although I don't know that for sure.

You might be surprised ATF+4 is supposed to be synthetic no matter how it is labeled as long as it is actually licensed and labeled ATF+4 it is required to be so. I just went with what they suggested on mine which was the 44-44 predecessor and I think actually locks even though it has Auto 4WD I have not had an issue with it in 135k. It is a blue color is the NV transfer case with Auto. What color is the 44-44 fluid?

 

[Hemi395]

Ahhh if only they still used the NV t cases.... The BW 44-44 fluid is red like ATF+4 is. However everything I've read about that fluid is that it's Dexron III which is not synthetic....

 

[develand]

Turned auto on today for a little for icy side streets. Not bad. I don't like the feel of the truck with it on while on normal treated streets though.

 

[baydog]

Count me as one disappointed guy! This transfer case sucks for anything other than daily driving.
I am not a severe off roader, but do use my transfer case daily towing boats and sleds.
The slipping of the clutches in my case have caused failure of the case three times, and failure of first gear in the transmission twice. Heat builds when the clutches slip in and out.
I would not still own this truck if it didn't have 100,000 miles drivetrain warranty.

 

[Csanders1992]

Count me as one disappointed guy! This transfer case sucks for anything other than daily driving.

I am not a severe off roader, but do use my transfer case daily towing boats and sleds.

The slipping of the clutches in my case have caused failure of the case three times, and failure of first gear in the transmission twice. Heat builds when the clutches slip in and out.

I would not still own this truck if it didn't have 100,000 miles drivetrain warranty.

This transfer case is designed for commuter use, not truck use. Sucks yours has had issues but it shows the slipping is major concern


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[baydog]

Yup, Had an 06 Ram with the auto feature and it worked flawlessly. If only I had known the later transfer cases were different I likely would have made different choices.

 

[Hemi395]

Rockland Standard Gear does make a conversion kit to make the 44-44 a part time tcase but from what I've read on the Z forum, it doesn't work that well. Apparently it goes into 4wd but it doesn't come fully out....

The other option is to swap it out for a 44-45. Not sure how the electronic end of this would work...

 

[Gump]

Count me as one disappointed guy! This transfer case sucks for anything other than daily driving.
I am not a severe off roader, but do use my transfer case daily towing boats and sleds.
The slipping of the clutches in my case have caused failure of the case three times, and failure of first gear in the transmission twice. Heat builds when the clutches slip in and out.
I would not still own this truck if it didn't have 100,000 miles drivetrain warranty.

Is that running it in auto or lock?

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

Rockland Standard Gear does make a conversion kit to make the 44-44 a part time tcase but from what I've read on the Z forum, it doesn't work that well. Apparently it goes into 4wd but it doesn't come fully out....

The other option is to swap it out for a 44-45. Not sure how the electronic end of this would work...

I think it's the 15's and up having problems. Something to the effect of not being able to switch back to 2wd...........IIRC

I'm pondering giving it a shot, 2014 should work (fingers crossed)

 

[Hemi395]

I think it's the 15's and up having problems. Something to the effect of not being able to switch back to 2wd...........IIRC

I'm pondering giving it a shot, 2014 should work (fingers crossed)

I thought about it too but I've never taken a tcase apart before and I can see me messing it up....

If you do decide to put one in, document the process as info on that kit is almost non-existent....

 

[baydog]

Is that running it in auto or lock?

Both, the transfer case behaves the same in Auto, lock, or low. It must sense loss of traction to rear wheels before sending power to the fronts. Junk......I intentionally got my truck stuck down the street from my dealer and called them for a tow. Service manager arrived to find my foot firmly on the brake, transfer case in 4 low, and rear wheels spinning freely in snow. Front wheels doing absolutely nothing. Junk.....

 

[Hemi395]

Both, the transfer case behaves the same in Auto, lock, or low. It must sense loss of traction to rear wheels before sending power to the fronts. Junk......I intentionally got my truck stuck down the street from my dealer and called them for a tow. Service manager arrived to find my foot firmly on the brake, transfer case in 4 low, and rear wheels spinning freely in snow. Front wheels doing absolutely nothing. Junk.....

Oh you mean like this? https://youtu.be/YM2HY1qa9Po

 

[Gump]

Both, the transfer case behaves the same in Auto, lock, or low. It must sense loss of traction to rear wheels before sending power to the fronts. Junk......I intentionally got my truck stuck down the street from my dealer and called them for a tow. Service manager arrived to find my foot firmly on the brake, transfer case in 4 low, and rear wheels spinning freely in snow. Front wheels doing absolutely nothing. Junk.....

You had your brakes on and the rear wheels were spinning?

 

[smiley]

Those transfer cases are so silly. Just frustrating to see.

 

[yillbs]

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.

Out of curiosity , how would you rather it work? You shouldn't be going into a situation knowing you'll need four wheel drive without it engaged. If you are, then you need to go buy a civic or something, wouldn't you think?

 

[yillbs]

Both, the transfer case behaves the same in Auto, lock, or low. It must sense loss of traction to rear wheels before sending power to the fronts. Junk......I intentionally got my truck stuck down the street from my dealer and called them for a tow. Service manager arrived to find my foot firmly on the brake, transfer case in 4 low, and rear wheels spinning freely in snow. Front wheels doing absolutely nothing. Junk.....

Curious, you're putting the break on and trying to get your front wheels to spin? You're story makes zero sense. Soon as you put it into any of the 4x4 modes and have it gas it would have performed. You're saying you purchased it, then purposely got it stuck as if you knew it sucked. If that's the case.... why buy it, extremely failed logic. You shouldn't be going into a 4x4 situation without 4x4 first engaged. It sounds to me like you're just whining because you need some attention.

 

[yillbs]

This transfer case is designed for commuter use, not truck use. Sucks yours has had issues but it shows the slipping is major concern


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What data are you citing stating these are not truck transfer cases?

 

[smiley]

Since they don't lock the front and rear he is saying they don't belong in a rig that will often need to lock in towing and off road situations. I for one would absolutely not buy a truck with the 44-44 it alone would push me to a 2500 or larger.

 

[yillbs]

Since they don't lock the front and rear he is saying they don't belong in a rig that will often need to lock in towing and off road situations. I for one would absolutely not buy a truck with the 44-44 it alone would push me to a 2500 or larger.

Being that the bw44-44 has been used for at least 3 years now, there should be no confusion as to how it operates. Rarely do we get freezing anything down here in south Texas, and I was able to got though 3-6 inches of thick slushy frozen mud. I got stuck, put it in 4 hi and pulled right out. I'm not sure what else one would need ? Their are countless of these videos on YouTube of the bw44-44 performing well , very well in even rather advanced off road usage. I'm merely pointing out that the logic behind some of the stuff that's being said is silly. I'm willing to bet a majority of the problems with this case are user errors.

 

[smiley]

Being that the bw44-44 has been used for at least 3 years now, there should be no confusion as to how it operates. Rarely do we get freezing anything down here in south Texas, and I was able to got though 3-6 inches of thick slushy frozen mud. I got stuck, put it in 4 hi and pulled right out. I'm not sure what else one would need ? Their are countless of these videos on YouTube of the bw44-44 performing well , very well in even rather advanced off road usage. I'm merely pointing out that the logic behind some of the stuff that's being said is silly. I'm willing to bet a majority of the problems with this case are user errors.

Since you don't live where there is ice on the roads many months of the year I will explain my side. The worst thing on ice is to slam on the brakes even a brake check can be fatal. The second worse thing is to start slipping on acceleration while at speed especially if only the rear is powered. That time it takes to move the power from rear only to front is terrible ok ice. By the time it catches up the damage is done you are fish tailing and the rest is a combo of experience and luck sometimes one more than the other. This reason is why I don't even use auto most of the time on my NVG transfer case. Locked in with power to front and rear is best for ice and as many have learned snow and mud too.

No offense to you but to say it can do it all when you have rain and sunshine most of the time is pretty limited.

In MN the 4wd is used a lot and not just to find off-road fun or something like that. Often times just to get to work. Also we ice fish and chances are good there is going to be some deep snow days with ice under the snow the 44-44 is not the setup to power through that either. This system belongs in a SUV or car at best case. I would actually prefer it not be offered at all when the ones like my "old" Ram has add more capable anyway.

All to save a very small amount of fuel.