AWD BW4404

[lugnut1009]

I’m looking for the collective opinion of all of the explorer professionals here.

A little background: I had a new Jeep Wrangler I sold to a dealer just because I didn’t want a car note AND used car prices are so ridiculous they paid me what I paid for it after 2 years and adding 40k miles to it. So then I ended up buying a ‘97 Eddie Bauer 5.0 AWD for what I thought was a good deal, should have looked up the value first, I paid too much. Anyway, I have the engine running great, transmission shifts great, replaced all the ball joints and sway bar end links up front, have everything working like it should. When I got it, I didn’t know it didn’t have a front drive shaft in it. So I bought one and it worked but after a couple hundred miles and lots of reading, I took it back out. It had a high speed vibration and a little roar. Short story long, I’ve determined the viscous coupler in my transfer case is locked up. With the front driveshaft out, I can park on an extreme hill and it is rock solid.

So I don’t really need the AWD, only bought this thing for the engine, transmission, and rear end reliability and just to have transportation. I’m into motorcycles so don’t really care much about a nice vehicle to drive.

So to my question, with my viscous coupler locked up, how reliable could this thing be as a 2wd? Should I spend the money for a manual 4406, a working 4404, or leave it as is until it explodes?? Really tired of putting money into this thing, and already know I have to spend more money to try and fix this rear end sag eventually.

 

[traveler]

Wish you lived closer, I've got a perfectly good 4404 I'd give you just to get it out of my shed. I know that doesn't help you out, sorry.

Anyway, I'd go ahead and replace the 4404, just because I don't like not having things on my vehicle that don't work. But that's just me.

 

[lugnut1009]

Wish you lived closer, I've got a perfectly good 4404 I'd give you just to get it out of my shed. I know that doesn't help you out, sorry.

Anyway, I'd go ahead and replace the 4404, just because I don't like not having things on my vehicle that don't work. But that's just me.

I’m the same way, will end up replacing it or selling it as is. Just wonder how long it will last like it is now.

 

[C420sailor]

If it’s a truck you want to make nice and keep for a long time, do a manual case mod.
If not, either another 4404 or carry wheel chocks with you lol

 

[crunchie_frog]

From my experience, the 4404 is very reliable provided tire sizes are the same and fluid is changed at some frequency.
As far as running just rwd, you should be okay but the car will roll on a hill so the parking brakes need to be in good order.
I would think you could find a 4404 from a nearby salvage yard that has relatively low miles and will come with a "it works" warranty. Swap out is not the easiest thing done if you are working alone but not impossible. You have to remove the center console to reach the top bolt heads holding the transfer case the transmission.

 

[410Fortune]

Can swap the t case in about two hours working slowly

Lots of good working 4404 out there can get one cheap however be careful here as yours is a 97 and has the speed sensor in it. You can use a 4404 from a 98-01 but you must then re use the back half of your 97 t case to retain the speed sensor
If you consider the 4406 conversion you will need a 4406 w a speed sensor and new drivelines ( totally worth it)

Where are you at? I’m on my phone so it doesn’t show locations

 

[lugnut1009]

Can swap the t case in about two hours working slowly

Lots of good working 4404 out there can get one cheap however be careful here as yours is a 97 and has the speed sensor in it. You can use a 4404 from a 98-01 but you must then re use the back half of your 97 t case to retain the speed sensor
If you consider the 4406 conversion you will need a 4406 w a speed sensor and new drivelines ( totally worth it)

Where are you at? I’m on my phone so it doesn’t show locations

I’m in Mississippi. I’ll have to see what I can find locally. I would much rather have the 4406, don’t really know why anybody would ever prefer this 4404. But if I can find a working 4404 for cheap, I’ll go that route.

Mine is a ‘97 but my speed sensor is on my rear axle. I’ll have to make sure there isn’t one on the transfer case as well.

If I went 4406, what vehicle would I have to source parts from? I’ve searched a little and every 4406 I find has the electric motor instead of manual linkage. And then neither one of my drive shafts will still fit? Figured the front might.

 

[C420sailor]

The 4404 is honestly pretty great on road, especially in regions that only get light-mod snow/ice. This is assuming your 4404 is good, and you keep matching tires on. Mine does great in the snow, and it’s nice not having to screw with anything going from shady areas with snow to sunny spots that are dry.

4406 is more robust though, obvi.

 

[Josh P]

Where are you at? I’m on my phone so it doesn’t show locations

Turn the phone sideways

 

[lugnut1009]

The 4404 is honestly pretty great on road, especially in regions that only get light-mod snow/ice. This is assuming your 4404 is good, and you keep matching tires on. Mine does great in the snow, and it’s nice not having to screw with anything going from shady areas with snow to sunny spots that are dry.

4406 is more robust though, obvi.

Mine is locked into full time 4wd. Will not unlock.

 

[MAS Tequila]

My 4404 has been sitting in my warehouse since the 4406 swap.

I'll make you a killer deal.

 

[lugnut1009]

My 4404 has been sitting in my warehouse since the 4406 swap.

I'll make you a killer deal.

I would jump on it, but just shipping would be ridiculous.

 

[410Fortune]

Shipping is about $80-150 for a t case I ship them all the time

Your 97 indeed has a vss in the transfer case I have owned about forty or more 5.0 explorers and I am the guy who replaces the t cases and makes sure the sensor stays put. I have split many 4404 cases in order to retain the 96/97 back half of the case with the vss. The vss in your rear axle is used for abs brakes only in 97
In 98-01 the trucks lost the trans mounted vss and went to the single rear axle sensor for the computer and dash

I absolutely despise the 70/30 split full time awd, it eats fuel and wears front tires, wheel bearings like nobody’s business. The first time you drive a 5.0 that was converted to true rwd 4hi 4lo you will understand. The steering gets lighter, the passing power is greater, the mpg improves, and best of all your tires will last twice as long.
First thing to do when I take possession of a 5.0 awd is the 4406 conversion, everyone in my family has a 5.0 explorer or ranger and we all have the 4406, that is except for my stepson who was too cheap to go 4406 and still has the 4404….well his 5.0 sport trac is parked at the bottom of our road because it won’t make it back here while his wife drives her 98 5.0 4406m in and out daily… I’m not joking we live 2 Miles back in the woods and right now our road is more of a sledding hill then a road.

I have converted dozens of these trucks starting with my old 96 back in 2006 or so, I had 19 of these trucks at my house at once before and crushed about 20 of them in one summer

410Fortune 96 AWD Ex - goes low range

I picked up my transfer case last night. Two t cases were included in the deal, one is strictly for parts. The t case I will be using in my 96 5.0L AWD explorer is a 2001 F-150 BW 4406 manual shift :) this makes me very happy. I will no longer have full time AWD, instead I will have 2wd, 4hi...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[lugnut1009]

It may be in the thread you posted, but what is the best source for a manual 4406 and other components? I’m assuming I’ll also need different hubs and driveshafts too.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Your hubs don’t need changed, just the driveshafts, which you can get out of factory F series vehicles. They are vehicle specific for front and rear.

 

[410Fortune]

The 4406 manual was used behind the 4.6 triton 5.4 triton (some) and 4.2l v6 found in the f150

The vss sensor was in the t case until 97 just
Like explorers
I have found them in 4.2l f150 all the way to 2008 I believe
The tricky part can be getting the t case and linkage all complete together and if you are really lucky find front and rear d shafts from same truck
I often buy the driveshafts from private party parting out f150 or expedition because the junk yards like to dent the rear truck shafts with their forklifts
Driveshafts can usually be shortened a lot cheaper then completely re tubed
There is info about what front and rear shafts will fit without mods 98 expedition rear and certain length f150 but I pretty much just get the shafts I can and plan to have them modified ( lately I’ve been building them myself in house)
The conversion will pay for itself in time with the Mpg increase and wear and tear items saved vs awd

There are quite a few threads on this forum about people who have gone 4406
It turns your soccer mom suv into a real 1/2’ton truck basically

Information about the bw4406 and what it was used in can be found Wikipedia and Google search, basically it replaced the bw 1356 that was behind the 302 and 351 in the older half tons when they went to the modular 4.6 triton. Some of the lighter 5.4’trucks also had the 4406, these trucks still use the 4r70w automatic just like your 5.0 explorer so you can see the front driveshaft usually fits right in whether it was in a 4.6 f150 or expedition, the rear shaft is a bit more tricky

If you cannot find one with the speed sensor in it there are ways around it, can add the sensor or use a digital speedometer interface to fool the truck many ways to skin a cat

 

[lugnut1009]

Thanks for all of the info. I’ll have to do some searching and see what I can come up with locally.

 

[CDW6212R]

The BW 4404 and 4403 can be driven without the front driveshaft for a long time, possibly forever. My black 98 had the front shaft out years before I got it(idiots ruin the viscous clutch with mismatched tires), and they choose to sacrifice the 4404 instead of buying matched tires.

I installed a spare front driveshaft, LOL the prior owner had what they said was the original shaft; it was too long, it was a V6 shaft. I replaced the TC fluid three times in about 18 months, it was always black. The 4404 finally locked up, and I found it from a worn out front R&P gear set, thought the binding I felt was a bad front CV axle. I removed the front shaft, and drove it at work for another 18 months, six months after the 4R70W lost 3rd/4th gears one day.

So you can keep driving it without the front shaft, just be careful parking on any incline. Even though you think it's locked completely, use the parking brake and keep it working well.

 

[lugnut1009]

The BW 4404 and 4403 can be driven without the front driveshaft for a long time, possibly forever. My black 98 had the front shaft out years before I got it(idiots ruin the viscous clutch with mismatched tires), and they choose to sacrifice the 4404 instead of buying matched tires.

I installed a spare front driveshaft, LOL the prior owner had what they said was the original shaft; it was too long, it was a V6 shaft. I replaced the TC fluid three times in about 18 months, it was always black. The 4404 finally locked up, and I found it from a worn out front R&P gear set, thought the binding I felt was a bad front CV axle. I removed the front shaft, and drove it at work for another 18 months, six months after the 4R70W lost 3rd/4th gears one day.

So you can keep driving it without the front shaft, just be careful parking on any incline. Even though you think it's locked completely, use the parking brake and keep it working well.

Thank you, gives me a little more peace of mind for driving it around as is now anyway. I still want to fix it right, and of course would rather have a complete manual TC with manual unlocking front hubs. But the purposes of this vehicle won't warrant it. IF I can find a good used 4404 at a good price, I'll throw it in and put the front driveshaft back. If not, I'll keep driving it as is. Maybe even using the old CV shafts I have at home to disassemble, use the outer spindles to hold the front bearings together, and have a 2wd with less front end drag.

 

[Mbrooks420]

You won’t get unlocking hubs.