BW 44-44 to BW 44-45 Swap

[Hemi395]

That's crazy. I dont know why mine is different. I laid underneath the truck and had a buddy cut the truck to run with it in auto and it didnt do anything. Have you cycled through your case. Ie. 4 low and back?

Yeah I can clearly hear it changing modes...

 

[Rader]

That's crazy. I dont know why mine is different. I laid underneath the truck and had a buddy cut the truck to run with it in auto and it didnt do anything. Have you cycled through your case. Ie. 4 low and back?

The 44-45 program wouldn't have the circuit for auto, and apparently your experiment confirms that the auto button circuit is dead after reprograming. Good that saves me one step when my 44-44 dies.

One QUESTION that I asked in an old thread on this swap that has not been answered to my satisfaction is.....

When I search for wrecking yard 44-45s they show different T cases depending on engine. The 44-45 for V/6 gas, Hemi and for Eco-D have different P/Ns. Plenty of V/6 gas and Hemi 44-45 can be found for around $125.00 on car-part.com, the price for a Eco-D 44-45 is 5 times higher.

Does anyone know..... If there is a strength difference like chain width difference etc.? Or a difference in splines ? What is different about the three different P/N 44-45s?

 

[chrisbh17]

AFAIK the internals are exactly the same but the EcoD version has a different rear case half because there is a mass damper attached to it.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[HvyDuty]

I understand that engine size does not matter but I noticed searching Car-Part that 2016+ BW 44-45 tcases also don't cross to 2015 and older ones. Will the older tcases work in 2016+ trucks? They are quite a bit cheaper on average.

 

[TOM153]

I plan on doing this in a few weeks except I'm going to take out my transfercase and bring it over to the place by me,transfercase unlimited. The guy said he can swap out the internals and make it a true Lock TC. Reason for doing this is because he said for some reason the BW 44-44 has much stronger internals than the BW 44-45. He said it's the same shift points for the computer to go to 2wd, 4wd, 4 low. Before alpha OBD he made a custom switch to go back into 2wd. IT was the same case with the rockland standard gear kit. Now there is a way to change it though I'm going to do it. On a side note though does anyone Know if its ok to support the transmission at the plastic pan with wood blocks? I realized I have to take crossmember out to get to the bottom bolts of the TC. Theres really no other place to support the transmission from that I can see though.

 

[Moparman16]

I’m pretty sure that the Rockland Standard Gear kit is the same as the kit you are getting put in by Transfercases Unlimited. If memory serves correct, George (the mastermind behind the kit) owns Transfercases unlimited.

After I did the BW44-45 swap I contacted George and let him know how I got it to work. He told me he was going to try AlfaOBD to see if it was the missing link to getting his kit to work. Maybe that piece of information was all he needed.

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

Your are correct sir

 

[TOM153]

I’m pretty sure that the Rockland Standard Gear kit is the same as the kit you are getting put in by Transfercases Unlimited. If memory serves correct, George (the mastermind behind the kit) owns Transfercases unlimited.

After I did the BW44-45 swap I contacted George and let him know how I got it to work. He told me he was going to try AlfaOBD to see if it was the missing link to getting his kit to work. Maybe that piece of information was all he needed.

Yeah the guy is definitely the man when it comes to transfercases. I visited his shop about a year ago and he showed me around he's got tons of transfercase's all over the place it's really cool. I plan to stop in there soon to talk to him and let him know i'm bringing my TC in but hopefully I can get this done in a few hours and it's not a royal PITA to remove.

 

[TOM153]

I’m pretty sure that the Rockland Standard Gear kit is the same as the kit you are getting put in by Transfercases Unlimited. If memory serves correct, George (the mastermind behind the kit) owns Transfercases unlimited.

After I did the BW44-45 swap I contacted George and let him know how I got it to work. He told me he was going to try AlfaOBD to see if it was the missing link to getting his kit to work. Maybe that piece of information was all he needed.

So I called George and i’m taking out my T-case and bringing it to him on Saturday. He didn’t mention anything about the rockland standard gear kit but that he’s just swapping in 44-45 parts into the 44-44 TC now. I told him about Alfa OBD and i’m going to be a guinea pig for his kit. So once I swap it I will report back to let you know if it works. He said it’s the same exact shift points as the normal 44-45 so it should theoretically work.

 

[TOM153]

Well after George put his kit inside my TC it functions 100% like a 44-45 with the added strength. AlfaOBD cured all the problems with the motor for me as well it goes from 2WD to 4HI to 4LO back to 2WD perfectly. My options were a little different on AlfaOBD probably due to my year but I had to select "44-45/44-46 w/Sync/44-48 w/Sync". If anyone is interested in doing this kit instead of a used 44-45 you can give George a call at (631) 226-1448. He's pricing the kit at $480 parts. While you can likely pick up a 44-45 used at this price online the main shaft is much heavier duty in the 44-44's case I'm being told. He uses mostly 44-45 parts, a new machine gear and a shift fork off an F-250's TC. It looks like an easy enough install to install the kit yourself or if you're in the area he'll likely charge some labor and do it for you. Thanks to @Moparman16 for the insight with alfa OBD i've been wanting to do this swap for a while. Also the normal 44-44 switch for the 8 speed works just fine. 4WD auto option doesn't do anything anymore.

 

[LouM]

Good to hear that it is a viable option now.

 

[ScLeCo]

I was able to pick up a 44-45 transfer case with only 7,000 miles on it. As soon as it arrives I'm going in balls deep. Looking forward to getting rid of the POS 44-44.

 

[chrisbh17]

I was able to pick up a 44-45 transfer case with only 7,000 miles on it. As soon as it arrives I'm going in balls deep. Looking forward to getting rid of the POS 44-44.

I was watching that one forever! I should have bought it a long time ago

 

[ScLeCo]

I was watching that one forever! I should have bought it a long time ago

Ha! Ya snooze ya lose!

 

[chrisbh17]

Heh nah, I was debating because I have MaxCare Lifetime and figured they would use it as an excuse to void every piece of it lol

 

[smiley]

Heh nah, I was debating because I have MaxCare Lifetime and figured they would use it as an excuse to void every piece of it lol

Do it anyway!!! This is the best thread i can’t believe I missed it.

I hope someone does this on a 19. I think they use the same crap with a different name on the higher end trucks. Figured I would never buy another Ram because of this issue.

 

[Ken226]

6 months and about 10000 miles so far since my swap. Still works like a champ.

 

[emjohn4]

Add me to the list of people doing the swap. Ordered a transfer case from ebay last week, and the switch yesterday.

Not sure if I will need the alfaobd or not; seems everyone is a 2013+ who has done the swap, I have a 2012.

Anyhow, it'll be fall before I get to it, but glad to have it 'on the list'.

 

[UpInSm0kE]

Following

 

[Dwayne a Hutson]

I have successfully swapped my BW 44-44 transfer case for a BW 44-45 transfer case and I just wanted to document the process for anyone else looking to do this.



Backstory

Like many of you, I was never happy with the performance of the BW 44-44 transfer case in my 2013 Ram 1500. Even after adjusting my driving for the way this t-case works it just kept letting me down. After getting the “4wd Overheated” warning on almost a weekly basis, I took the truck into a driveline shop to get the transfer case looked at. They confirmed my suspicion and informed me that the clutches were toast on the t-case. My truck was out of warranty at this point so my options were:

1. Rebuild my transfer case with new clutches and still have all the issues associated with a BW 44-44 OR
2. Install the Rockland Standard Gear Kit to eliminate the clutches but end up with issues getting back into true 2wd OR
3. Swap in a BW 44-45 and figure out how to get the trucks computer to think it came from the factory with a BW 44-45

As you may have guessed from the title of this thread, I chose option three.



Transfer Case Swap

You will need the following parts for the swap:

- BW 44-45 transfer case

- 44-45 transfer case switch

- AlfaOBD software

- 2 Quarts of ATF+4

I sourced a low mileage (42,000 km) BW 44-45 from a salvage yard through eBay. According to the ad it was out of a 2016 Ram 1500. They are easy to come by on eBay and www.car-part.com. I also bought a 44-45 transfer case switch from my local salvage yard. I admittedly don’t know if the 44-45 transfer case switch was needed but I wanted to make my install as factory as possible. Picked up some Red Line C+ATF from a local parts store and I already had the AlfaOBD software. The total cost of all of the parts (minus the AlfaOBD software) was $315 CAD. Obviously, your price will vary depending on how much you shop around for a good deal on a transfer case.

Since it is winter in Northern Ontario and I don’t have a garage, I had a buddy (who owns a driveline shop) install the BW 44-45 for me. The connectors are the same between both transfer cases and they have the same physical dimensions. I have removed and reinstalled transfer cases on other vehicles and it is not a very difficult job or anything to get intimidated by. I will not be describing step by step how to remove and replace the t-case as there are already many guides on how to do this.

You will need to transfer your encoder motor from your BW 44-44 to the 44-45, if your 44-45 didn’t come with an encoder motor. Both cases use the same encoder motor. There is a wire that runs from the encoder motor connector directly to the 44-44 transfer case that will need to be unpinned. Since there is only one wire that runs from this connector to the transfer case it is impossible for you to screw it up. The corresponding wire from the BW 44-45 transfer case will need to be pinned into the connector. When you have the transfer cases in front of you what I just described will make perfect sense.

Once the BW 44-45 was installed and filled with fresh Red Line C+ ATF (approx. 1.5 quarts needed; any ATF+4 will work), the next step was to install the 44-45 switch. You need to remove the center stack (lots of guides and pictures available around the forum). Once the center stack is removed there are four screws that hold the 4wd switch in place. Loosen them, swap out the switch and reinstall the center stack. Please note, my truck is a 6 speed automatic so this may differ slightly for those you with the 8 speeds and rotary shifter.


AlfaOBD

The final part of the swap is changing the transfer case type with the AlfaOBD software. For anyone that is new to AlfaOBD follow the following link and familiarize yourself with the software: https://www.ramforum.com/threads/alfaobd.123982/Anyone that has tried to swap transfer cases or install the Rockland Standard Gear kit has faced the same problem after the install. They have been unable to get their trucks to return to “true 2wd” after the truck had cycled through 4wd Low. 4thGen Ram 1500s have two points of disconnect in 2wd: the front axle disconnect and the transfer case. With the RSG Kit or swapping to a 44-45 without modifying the software, the encoder motor will not rotate far enough when 2wd was selected to disconnect the front driveshaft from the transfer case. Only the front axle disconnect would disconnect the front driveshaft. This meant that you were technically in 2wd but the transfer case would always be locked in. The fear with this is that it would cause premature wear of the transfer case and increased vibration in the driveline. I root of this problem is caused by the body control modules of 44-44 and 44-45 trucks having different programming.

The AlfaOBD software provides the ability to change the transfer case type within the Body Control Module. I reached to others on the forum and was able to get a dump of a 44-45 trucks BCM settings. These settings got compared to mine and the only difference was the transfer case type.


To change your transfer case type you must:


- Plug in OBDLink MX and turn key to “Run” position without the vehicle running

- Select “Dodge/Ram” and then “Ram 1500 (DS/DX)”

- Select “Body Computer”

- Select control unit for your year of truck

- Click "Connect"

- Click on Active Diagnostics (picture of car with hood open; bottom right corner)

- Scroll to the bottom of the list and select “Car Configuration Change”

- Then in the lower menu select “VehConfig 3-T-Case Type"

- Select “BW 4446 with Synchro”

- Select “Start” and then press “Next”

- You will get a message saying “Program Completed”

- Back out to the main menu of AlfaOBD, remove OBDLink MX and turn key to off position and remove

- Allow the truck to sleep for about 10 minutes and you should be good to go


Testing

When I started the truck no warnings or fault lights appeared. I tested all of the drive modes and everything worked perfectly. After testing the drive modes, I had one more thing to check: would the front driveshaft be disconnected at both disconnection points in 2wd. I turned my truck off with it in 2wd and climbed underneath. I was able to freely turn the front driveshaft and it was clear that both disengagement points were functioning as a factory built 44-45 truck would. I plugged the AlfaOBD back into my truck and checked for fault codes. There were none.

I have been using the t-case almost daily since the swap and I have had no issues to date.

Disclaimer:
This swap was done on a 2013 Ram 1500 Big Horn Hemi. You can use the information above at your own risk. I do not accept any responsibility for changes you make to your truck. I also cannot ensure that my process will work for every combination of truck.

I'm getting ready to change mine...first 4x4 ever owned I was just wondering if there are gaskets or seals I should purchase before the switch of cases?