BW 4406 swap right for me?

[5.0Kevin]

I'm looking to do the manual BW 4406 swap on my 97 V8 Explorer, but I'm wondering if it's right for me. Looking for opinions on driveability from those who've swapped.

I drive on pretty icy roads six months of the year. My commute to work every day is 15 miles each way on a straight highway, and even in the winter people go about 70 mph (yeah we're stupid, it's a busy, three-lane, well groomed highway with big soft ditches for our trucks to fall in to).

That being said, would it be unwise to drop my AWD for a manual 4x4? Or is that pretty much irrelevant at highway speeds?

Reasons for the swap:
- Fun
- Access to cheap parts
- I put a lot of miles on each week, so any improvement to mileage is great

Any thoughts/advice appreciated. Thanks!

 

[delexploder]

Im very happy with mine

 

[vroomzoomboom]

from what i know, it will save you mileage (i cant say for sure because i did this swap when i put the 5L in mine). there are some guys that have had some vibration issues, and some that can hear a humming sound. some. others say they have had zero problems. i have used mine in the same winters you have, but i dont daily drive it in winter and have had no problems. i also beat the hell out of the truck on the street in the summer.