Auto-Trak II fluid alternative???

[Nyogtha]

Mine doesn't. It specifies the Mopar BW44-44 fluid.


TRANSFER CASE LUBRICANT
FOR BORGWARNER 44-44
Specified for use in BorgWarner
44-44 Transfer Case. Not
recommended for use in other
applications. Consult vehicle
service manual for further
information.
1 Quart (32 Oz.) Bottle
MSQ: 6 Bottles
Part No. 68089195AA


I'll wait until I get closer to the 64K mile mark on mine and see what might pop up in aftermarket offerings by then. I'll be past my 5 year warranty by then.

 

[Rendezvous]

Originally Posted By: Nyogtha
Mine doesn't. It specifies the Mopar BW44-44 fluid.

I'll wait until I get closer to the 64K mile mark on mine and see what might pop up in aftermarket offerings by then. I'll be past my 5 year warranty by then.


You also have a 1500 I have a 2500.

 

[Nyogtha]

Yes and a BW44-44 TC. I did mention that a while back. You copied that into your first post in this thread.

 

[Rendezvous]

Originally Posted By: Nyogtha
Yes and a BW44-44 TC. I did mention that a while back. You copied that into your first post in this thread.


Yes that is how I knew.

 

[Nyogtha]

So which transfer case did you base your comments on?

 

[Rendezvous]

Originally Posted By: Nyogtha
So which transfer case did you base your comments on?


The one that is in my own truck. That would be the BW 44-46. The 1500 uses the BW 44-44 T case. Of course your owners manual is going to say it requires the OEM Borg Warner 44-44 fluid. For some reason Chrysler decided to make things confusing about what fluid is supposed to be used in my 44-46 T case. My owners manual says to use ATF4 and if you look in Chrysler's factory service manual at an actual Ram dealership it just says to use Mopar transfer case fluid. Mopar only makes two transfer case fluids for 4th gen rams. One is only for the NV T cases and the other is the BW 44-44 fluid. So I decided to look into it more. I was lucky enough to be able to talk to two Chrysler engineers who work directly with their transmissions and T cases. I asked if they could check into the fluid for me. They told me the Borg Warner fluid is DexIII.

 

[Nyogtha]

Clearly warranty compliance / coverage isn't an issue for you (showing receipts for fluids you purchase & use) and changing boutique DexIII replacement every 15 to 20 K miles works for you though. Changing the boutique DexIII replacement twice has probably cost you about the same as ordering BW44-44 fluid via the internet, so I don't see a cost benefit to your approach.

I think I know what caused the comments on green fluid from the dealer; I suspect the poster reporting that on another board actually used ZF fluid. Wonder how that worked out for him, but not curious about trying that myself. Like I said you know what it's like with stuff people post on internet boards.

Personally I'm going to stick to what's documented. Amsoil stands behind recommending their DexIII replacement for the NV243 case but not the BW44-44 case. Valvoline, Pennzoil, and Royal Purple all state they have no replacement fluid for the BW44-44 transfer case. I see no logical reason for these companies to cut themselves out of sales revenue. The Mopar catalog also shows the BW44-44 fluid is to only be used for the BW44-44 and not for other applications. Personally, if I had a BW44-46 I'd use the same Havoline ATF+4 I got for $4 / qt. for my transmission in my transfer case since that's what's specified in the owner's manual; I have 4 qts. of that on hand.

To each their own.

 

[Rendezvous]

Originally Posted By: Nyogtha
Clearly warranty compliance / coverage isn't an issue for you (showing receipts for fluids you purchase & use) and changing boutique DexIII replacement every 15 to 20 K miles works for you though. Changing the boutique DexIII replacement twice has probably cost you about the same as ordering BW44-44 fluid via the internet, so I don't see a cost benefit to your approach.

I think I know what caused the comments on green fluid from the dealer; I suspect the poster reporting that on another board actually used ZF fluid. Wonder how that worked out for him, but not curious about trying that myself. Like I said you know what it's like with stuff people post on internet boards.

Personally I'm going to stick to what's documented. Amsoil stands behind recommending their DexIII replacement for the NV243 case but not the BW44-44 case. Valvoline, Pennzoil, and Royal Purple all state they have no replacement fluid for the BW44-44 transfer case. I see no logical reason for these companies to cut themselves out of sales revenue. The Mopar catalog also shows the BW44-44 fluid is to only be used for the BW44-44 and not for other applications. Personally, if I had a BW44-46 I'd use the same Havoline ATF+4 I got for $4 / qt. for my transmission in my transfer case since that's what's specified in the owner's manual; I have 4 qts. of that on hand.

To each their own.




Yes I am not worried about warranty. Ram would never cover any powertrain claim anyway on my truck with a compound turbo set up and everything else it has. The oem fluid from my local dealer which is were I would purchase it from costs $60 for one change. The Motul and Redline I have used was only $40 total for 2 qt's of each so the two changes I have done so far cost less than one with the oem fluid. However I didn't use them to save money anyway. If I was actually concerned with my warranty like you are I would most likely be using the oem fluid just so they wouldn't deny any claims. Good luck with your truck!

 

[Nyogtha]

Thanks. Certainly sounds like you're enjoying your truck.

As I mentioned I have found the OEM fluid on the internet for a little over $20 per bottle including shipping, so 2 qts. would cost me just over $40. At my dealer yes it would be $30 / qt. as I mentioned previously as well.

I'm also puzzled if the factory fill is plain mineral Dexron III how Ram's 5 yr. / 100,000 mile powertrain warranty sets 64k miles as the severe service transfer case fluid change interval and 128k miles as the standard transfer case service change interval in my owner's manual. I would think a synthetic basestock would be prudent for those factory fill change intervals.