BW 44-46 Transfer Case Fluid Change

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Richard Kim

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I decided to change my TC fluid yesterday on my 2016 2500 gasser with 60K miles. Took me all of 15 minutes after watching this YouTube video (Marion is the man):

Couple of observations:

1. There was almost 0 torque on the drain and fill bolts from the factory. I would check the torque if you have never changed the fluid. Per the video, do NOT over torque.

2. I change the fluid at 60,000 miles. The color was way off the original bright red color. It was brown, oxidized and nasty. I rarely put this in 4 wheel drive and I don't tow or haul of any significance so I ignored the TC. Most change out the fluid at 30,000 if they tow regularly.

3. I did a lot of brain damage trying to figure out if I could use anther fluid than the factory Mopar "tears of a baby seal" at $25/qt. Ended up ordering 4 quarts from Summit (free shipping if over $99). https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MI7a6brYDx4gIVC7bACh1R_ADHEAQYAiABEgKzMfD_BwE
I figure why risk it on an expense transfer case.

Hope this helps.
 

HammerHead

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I decided to change my TC fluid yesterday on my 2016 2500 gasser with 60K miles. Took me all of 15 minutes after watching this YouTube video (Marion is the man):

Couple of observations:

1. There was almost 0 torque on the drain and fill bolts from the factory. I would check the torque if you have never changed the fluid. Per the video, do NOT over torque.

2. I change the fluid at 60,000 miles. The color was way off the original bright red color. It was brown, oxidized and nasty. I rarely put this in 4 wheel drive and I don't tow or haul of any significance so I ignored the TC. Most change out the fluid at 30,000 if they tow regularly.

3. I did a lot of brain damage trying to figure out if I could use anther fluid than the factory Mopar "tears of a baby seal" at $25/qt. Ended up ordering 4 quarts from Summit (free shipping if over $99). https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MI7a6brYDx4gIVC7bACh1R_ADHEAQYAiABEgKzMfD_BwE
I figure why risk it on an expense transfer case.

Hope this helps.
If you ever have questions about fluids ask in the Synthetic Oil thread, lots of guys with a ton of good information and knowledge.
Good video; I did mine at 10k with the expense Mopar fluid and the color was starting to get a little brown. Can’t imagine doing it at 120k per the manual.
 
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Richard Kim

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Are there alternatives to the mopar fluid for these t-case?
Some people said that ATF fluid is fine; did not want to take the chance. I sucked it up and got the Mopar fluid instead. I want to keep this truck to at least 200K miles.
 

crazy jerry

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your concearned with $50 every two or three years? how sad

theres a couple exceptions but most every chain drive tcase in the last 35yrs used atf. if i had to guess i would say the factory specific oil may well be relabeled atf+4 and i wouldnt be a bit suprised but theres always a chance its some special blend of atf. ford uses the same tcase and probly recomends their own relabled trans fluid. i use factory fluid unless im fully confident another cheaper fluid is compatible
 

68PowerWagon

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your concearned with $50 every two or three years? how sad

theres a couple exceptions but most every chain drive tcase in the last 35yrs used atf. if i had to guess i would say the factory specific oil may well be relabeled atf+4 and i wouldnt be a bit suprised but theres always a chance its some special blend of atf. ford uses the same tcase and probly recomends their own relabled trans fluid. i use factory fluid unless im fully confident another cheaper fluid is compatible

I think a lot of people are concerned about every penny they spend right now. We are on the cusp of another great recession at best, & possibly another depression.
 

crazy jerry

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I think a lot of people are concerned about every penny they spend right now. We are on the cusp of another great recession at best, & possibly another depression.

you could be right. everyone should be more worried about the next item they purchase with a made in china label on it
 

Halligan

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I would assume using ATF+4 would be fine. I would also assume that the costly Borg Warner transfer case fluid uses friction modifiers to be used in transfer cases the have an "auto" mode. I would then assume FCA decided we'll sell this expensive fluid for all transfer cases, even if the fancy fluid isn't actually needed, just to make a few more bucks.

Of course these assumption's are just mine and we all know what happens when you make an Ass Out of You and Me.
 

Rob Agnew

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Hope this saves someone the couple of hours I just spent. If you have a BorgWarner transfer case (my 2014 Cummins 3500 has the 44-46), they do NOT recommend. ATF+4. Dealership will sell you Mopar Performance 68089195AA Lubricant at about $30 / quart. I've found Amsoil has 2 products (this and this) around $10 / qt that meet the Mopar spec. Reading other blogs, I'm not the 1st to connect these dots and save ~$40.
 

crazy jerry

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problem is that some of us dont want to use amsoil stuff

im suprised nobody has sent a sample of the ram borgwarner oil to a lab and see how it differs from atf. really i dont think theres anything special about the tcase internals, except maybe some sort of electromagnetic clutch like whats on a ac compressor but the shouldnt require any special oil
 

chrisbh17

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problem is that some of us dont want to use amsoil stuff

im suprised nobody has sent a sample of the ram borgwarner oil to a lab and see how it differs from atf. really i dont think theres anything special about the tcase internals, except maybe some sort of electromagnetic clutch like whats on a ac compressor but the shouldnt require any special oil

If this t-case is the one with "4 Auto", the internals are actually clutches (friction discs) so they require a special fluid. Its not a fully mechanical, chain-driven setup like we're used to.

The electromagnetic clutch is what modulates how "engaged" everything is, but there are still internal clutch discs as well.
 

Mathew Oleary

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I have finally found the answer, yes you can use atf 4 in your transfer case, Chrysler did there best to hide the specs on the TC fluid, but I found it on an MSDS sheet, it’s virtually identical to atf4, the first picture is mobile 1 synthetic atf4, the second picture is BW 44-44

360539CE-0BFA-4477-822C-FFC4D1BC5741.png

247CB2E5-895B-422D-BCEC-6C16F921875F.png
 

crazy jerry

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i dont think anyone doubted the possibility of bw44-44 being atf+4. truth be known , dexronlll would probly do just as well and was used in many tcases over the years. toyota had the only chain drive tcase to use something other than atf as far as i know
 

Old Norse

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Hats off to whoever sourced the msds sheets. Man after my own "underhandedness."
I wonder if Royal Purple Max ATF is comparable?
 

ripping r

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well now i feel better. been using atf+4 since the first change. i change it every 10,000 miles
 
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Josephc1

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a bit over 35K miles on the Supertech ATF+4 in the transfer case with no issues. Getting ready to change it again and will use the same ATF+4.
 

chrisbh17

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a bit over 35K miles on the Supertech ATF+4 in the transfer case with no issues. Getting ready to change it again and will use the same ATF+4.

I kinda wonder....even though the fluid has been in there for 35K, how much 4WD has actually been used?

I dont think anyone can question how the fluid works in "static" mode (i.e. 2WD), but the contents of correct vs incorrect fluid might not become an issue until 4WD is actually engaged and the clutches are actually put to use.

For example, I have 20K miles on my truck and *maybe* 100 miles of that was actual 4WD use (and probably not even close to that, but Ill be conservative). I have definitely not really worked the fluid or the clutches very much, even with 20K miles on my truck.
 

ripping r

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I kinda wonder....even though the fluid has been in there for 35K, how much 4WD has actually been used?

I dont think anyone can question how the fluid works in "static" mode (i.e. 2WD), but the contents of correct vs incorrect fluid might not become an issue until 4WD is actually engaged and the clutches are actually put to use.

For example, I have 20K miles on my truck and *maybe* 100 miles of that was actual 4WD use (and probably not even close to that, but Ill be conservative). I have definitely not really worked the fluid or the clutches very much, even with 20K miles on my truck.
there are parts always moving in there. just because your in 2wd it still lubing bearings and lots of stuff. its not even 2 quarts so i change it a lot.
 
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