Borg Warner 44-44 "Auto 4WD" and such Transfer Case...

[Murphy Slaw]

I'm getting near in the market for a new truck, and my '05 Ram 1500 has been a very good one. I notice the upper level trim on the new Rams (Sport, Bighorn/Longhorn, and Laramie) don't use the 44-45 (chain) anymore and has the 44-44 clutch driven transfer case.

I'm seeing/hearing mixed reviews about it and wanted the "experts" here to voice an opinion. I also have a thread at the Ram Forum on this subject.

As one of the "elder" members here, I don't do any real rock crawling and stuff, just a little hunting and exploring and working on my own 30 acres of woods with NO roads, just trails !

My main concern would be longevity in "normal to above normal" situations, and I think it's a fairly new design hence my concern.

Thanks.

 

[IronPercheron]

I have seen BW clutch cases in Ford and Gm applications... as long as you service it properly (good clean fluids) you wont notice the change. Its (you know this) a wet clutch pack. So any material loss remains in circulation... service properly and youll be fine.

I think we can all (im a ford man) can admit dodge is as good a workhorse as any big 3 truck.

The Ford and GM BW clutch tcase applications mentioned are still on the road today nearly 25 years later lol

(New Process also has variants but thats useless info here) ... NP245 or 246 i think.... not sure. Dont feel like googling before coffee.

In short... doit.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Brandon-w]

This is my first forum post. Hopefully I can be of good use on here for some people. I have a dodge ram with the bw 44-44 t case and noticed it wasn't up to par in the hard off road department. I currently am very active on another forum. If you guys have any concerns with the t case I have a locking solution just google search "ram forum transfercase diagram" there's more information about your t case there than you can imagine. Also feel free to ask me as well if you want.
Hopefully someone finds this helpful.

 

[Dilldog]

How was it not up to par? Does the clutch slip. I'm just wondering out of curiosity. Also is it functioning all the time, or does a drive train computer only engage the clutch when needed? Again just curious.

 

[Brandon-w]

Basically what it does is engages a clutch inside the transfercase for 4x4 to work. The programmers at dodge decided it'd be a great idea to not engage 4x4 until the rear tires are slipping. For example your in the mud/snow/sand in low traction and your rear tires spin say 2x revolutions (all dodges are different depending on condition of clutches) so it spins x amount of revolutions before applying power to the clutches and engaging 4x4 properly.
The fun part:
Once the computer senses your tires are no longer spinning it shuts off the clutch and you go through the cycle again and again till you either get out or overheat the transfercase which puts you back into 2 wheel until it cools. When it's going through its on off cycle in 4x4 you get that hopping feeling. You also get very stuck very fast when it does this. Hope this answered your questions. [emoji846]

 

[Billiebob]

Basically what it does is engages a clutch inside the transfercase for 4x4 to work. The programmers at dodge decided it'd be a great idea to not engage 4x4 until the rear tires are slipping. For example your in the mud/snow/sand in low traction and your rear tires spin say 2x revolutions (all dodges are different depending on condition of clutches) so it spins x amount of revolutions before applying power to the clutches and engaging 4x4 properly.
The fun part:
Once the computer senses your tires are no longer spinning it shuts off the clutch and you go through the cycle again and again till you either get out or overheat the transfercase which puts you back into 2 wheel until it cools. When it's going through its on off cycle in 4x4 you get that hopping feeling. You also get very stuck very fast when it does this. Hope this answered your questions. [emoji846]

Sounds like a system for soccer Moms who really never go wheeling. I swear by a transfer case with a floor shifter and no differential or clutch pack or.... I prefer gear drive like the NP 203, NP 205 but most of todays chain driven transfer cases are just as good. I like a mechanical lever to shift mechanical gears.

 

[Brandon-w]

Sounds like a system for soccer Moms who really never go wheeling. I swear by a transfer case with a floor shifter and no differential or clutch pack or.... I prefer gear drive like the NP 203, NP 205 but most of todays chain driven transfer cases are just as good. I like a mechanical lever to shift mechanical gears.

Yeah I guess dodge calls it their "luxury truck" so they put that case in it seems silly to work it like that. Yeah I like the old cases too. Grab the lever it's locked in and done. No wiring no expensive shift motors just simple mechanics.

 

[Dilldog]

Yeah that satisfies my curiosity, sounds awful and definitely set up for low traction on roads. I could see it being nice, but there should be a lock switch, especially in a pickup.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

My truck has 40,000 miles and the stock case has worked fine. Like I said, I'm not a rock crawler, just an adventurer, but I do own 30 acres of woods and we usually get more snow than this year.... It's actually pretty nice just using the 4 Auto and forget about it.

However, Brandon is a legend at the Ram Forum and knows what he's doing.

 

[Brandon-w]

Thanks Murphy. [emoji16]

 

[64Trvlr]

Sounds like a system for soccer Moms who really never go wheeling. I swear by a transfer case with a floor shifter and no differential or clutch pack or.... I prefer gear drive like the NP 203, NP 205 but most of todays chain driven transfer cases are just as good. I like a mechanical lever to shift mechanical gears.

The NP-205 is a gear drive but the NP-203 is chain drive.

 

[Dilldog]

The NP-205 is a gear drive but the NP-203 is chain drive.

Also the 203 has a differential.