Explorer AWD T-cases?

[JoshT]

I've got a couple of ideas involving Ford drive trains and AWD bouncing around in my head, and realized I know little about the AWD transfer cases.

Did the 4.0l Explorers ever come with AWD? What was the model? Would that t-case require a control module to work? If they exist, I'm wandering if I could just bolt one of these behind a 4wd 4R44 or 5R55 trans, or if a lot of custom work would be required.

I know the V8 Explorers had two different and t-cases. The BW4404 was a dedicated AWD unit and the BW4405 was a AWD/4wd unit.

If I understand right, the 4404 is a self contained unit, with no external controls. Is this case auto trans only, or can it be put behind a 5.0L manual trans? I know it probably has to do with the tail shaft housing, but I'm not fimilar with them enough to know more than 2wd or 4wd.

I know that the 4405 uses external electronic controls, and I don't particularly want to fool with them. For what I have in mind I don't need 4hi and 4lo any way.

 

[adsm08]

Some of the IRS Explorers with e 4.0/5R55 trans had AWD. It was more common to see on the Mercury branded units. I believe but am not 100% sure that it is the same 4404 case used with the V8s.

On the true AWD cases there is no external, or even internal, controls what so ever. The function is very similar to the traditional transfer case when put in 4-hi, expect that near the front output there is a unit called a "viscous coupler". It functions a lot like a torque converter in that it is supposed to allow a certain amount of slip between the two shafts it connects. They are known for burning up which will lead to the same symptoms as a regular 4x4 being in 4x4 on dry pavement, skipping, binding, hopping, bad tire wear. The new VC units are about $1200 last time I priced one.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

My little bit of research confirms adsm08, in that there is two types, a viscous coupler and a clutch type coupler. I have what I believe is a clutch type and want to run it with a on/off switch. Normally its controlled by the gem using sensors to tell the TC when to apply torque via PWM (pulse width modulation) to the front driveshaft. I haven't done any research into whether the switch is feasible.

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[JoshT]

Thanks adsm08

RockAuto agrees with what you are saying, but I wasn't sure that listing was to be trusted where these are concerned. Seems odd though... An adapter is needed to run the BW1354 on a 4R70W, so I figured that the reverse would be true as well.

Since you referenced the IRS Mountaineers being the most common with the V6 AWD config I looked them up as well. Seems that they got a BW4410 transfer case mated to the 5R55W. Seems that this is going to take a bit more research to figure out. Just got to figure out where to start.



FWIW I'm thinking of committing 4x4 blasphmey, and lowering (not slamming) my 99 Ranger 4wd. It's currently lifted a bit and riding on 32x11.5 tires. It has a fresh 4.0L and fairly fresh transmission, but I need to make the move to a bigger truck for some things I want.

The Full-size will be a 1968 Ford F-100 4wd, that has been upgraded a little bit. Upgrades to include EFI, freshen motor (maybe aftermarket heads?), overdrive, and 4 wheel disk brakes. Dad already has the truck, I just need to put it back on the road and do the upgrades.

I won't need the Ranger as a 4wd hunting truck anymore, so I intend to convert into something more fitting of a Daily Driver. Drop it down to about (coil spring) 2wd stock height, appropriately sized tires. Should improve ride, handling, power, and performance. It might even improve the gas mileage a little bit. If needed, it would still have 4wd installed and enough ground clearance for the occasional trip to the hunting camp, from there I'd use my ATV to go through rougher stuff.

While thinking about this the idea popped into my head how much fun this might be to drive if I could build it into AWD, but I don't really want to do a V8 swap on it. I know I'd sacrifice any potential MPG savings for the AWD system, but it might be fun enough to be worth it and couldn't be any worse than it gets now.

 

[don4331]

Couple questions for the experts:

Isn't the 5R55 in the Explorer, the 5R55W; not the 5R55E found in JoshT's Ranger? And following that logic, might not the 5R55W have the same 28 spline output shaft as the 4R70W; while the 5R55E has the 25 spline output for the BW1354?

Ford specs peg my coil spring Ranger at 2.8" lower than my 4wd, both with base tires. Base tires on 4wd would be .3" larger in diameter; so you are still looking at over 2.5" in lowering. Doesn't that take up most of your suspension? And won't it be hard on your CVs?

I wouldn't mind a Ranger answer to the GMC Syclone - well at minimum for my V-8 Ranger to be a 3 season vehicle here in Canada but I haven't figured out how to lower it without destroying the ride. Raising front axle so it is more than 6" above pavement is on list too.

 

[JoshT]

Couple questions for the experts:

Isn't the 5R55 in the Explorer, the 5R55W; not the 5R55E found in JoshT's Ranger? And following that logic, might not the 5R55W have the same 28 spline output shaft as the 4R70W; while the 5R55E has the 25 spline output for the BW1354?

Yes. I thought of that being a possibility. That's one of the reasons that I need to do a little more studying. Haven't found any specs on output shaft yet.

Ford specs peg my coil spring Ranger at 2.8" lower than my 4wd, both with base tires. Base tires on 4wd would be .3" larger in diameter; so you are still looking at over 2.5" in lowering. Doesn't that take up most of your suspension? And won't it be hard on your CVs?

OK make that a 2wd Ranger with over sized tires. Stock size tires on a stock 2wd look anemic anyway. I've heard of a few AWD Explorers getting lowered a few inches and the Saleem XP8 awd explorers were lowered that much in stock components with no CV axle issues.

I wouldn't mind a Ranger answer to the GMC Syclone - well at minimum for my V-8 Ranger to be a 3 season vehicle here in Canada but I haven't figured out how to lower it without destroying the ride. Raising front axle so it is more than 6" above pavement is on list too.

As it sits now the truck has 7+ inches of ground clearance on the front axle. I can't think of a single time that I've needed it. I've driven my car with about 3" of GC nearly everywhere I've taken the truck.

 

[Blown]

I've had similar ideas. I'd like to keep my blown 4.0 in my ranger edge and have an explorer AWD for parts, but it looks like it would take an adapter to mate the the T-case to the engine and then I have no clue about output shaft sizes and spline counts...................left the idea there. I may swap-in the X V8 and all running gear, but I doubt it. I am getting 16-17mpg around town and 18.5 on the highway at 5,000' + altitude.
I lowered it a bit, took out the weight I could, added 1.5" wheel spacers, put on 255/70's and enjoy a bit better handling, and still have a good snow rig for Denver and the Mtns.

 

[redhurricane]

This topic has bounced around in my head for a year or two, and I keep telling myself I am going to dedicate an entire weekend to a fact finding mission at the junkyard. I too am here in Denver, and my current arrangement is as follows:

1987 short bed standard cab 4x4 truck. 2.3 turbo, M5ODR1, with 1350 manual TC behind it. D35 front axle with manual hubs. 8.8 rear.

I have no need for true 4x4, as the truck sees asphalt only. I DO have the desire to have AWD, just as the Syclone/Typhoon had as traction is a major issue with my setup. Lowering slightly would be desirable, but nearly impossible with the D35 TTB for anything less than about an inch below stock and not sacrifice reasonable suspension travel for city use. I have looked at the BW4404/4410 as options, but the strength of the viscous coupling has driven me away from using them. A 4405 would be optimal, but without the GEM to control it, I am out of luck.

I almost wonder if I could not figure out how to adapt the 4405 to my ECU (I am running megasquirt), all it would have to do is be able to sense torque differential between rear and front outputs, right?

 

[redhurricane]

Price of VC units might have dropped significantly.

http://www.americanpowertrainwarehouse.com/bw4404-transfer-case-viscous-coupler-fits-95-01-5-0l-explorer-mountaineer-4404-625-001/

For $105 bucks at the junkyard, a BW4404 just might be something worth grabbing and testing. Another $198 for a new VC. Shoot, I just spent more than that on a cam. Maybe some failure testing needs to be done. LOL

 

[JoshT]

...but it looks like it would take an adapter to mate the the T-case to the engine and then I have no clue about output shaft sizes and spline counts...................left the idea there. I may swap-in the X V8 and all running gear, but I doubt it. I am getting 16-17mpg around town and 18.5 on the highway at 5,000' + altitude.

That's what I'm encountering. I think the 4404 would definitely require adapters to mate to the 5R55E. That's why I'm now looking into the 4410 that came out a little later. It was mounted to the 5R55W transmission, and that transmission was used on both the 4.0L V6 and 4.6L V8 in the Explorers. I know that there were two separate versions of that 5R for different bell housing pattern, What I don't know is how the tail housing and output shaft differ between the 5R55E and 5R55W. Unfortunately their are no local yards where I can go Exploring either.

I don't think there is any chance that this truck will get an AWD V8 drive train. I'm slowly building a '86 Ranger V8 2wd, and it's the only V8 swap I want. Now I can't say I won't do a late model frame swap and give it AWD someday, but it's not in the cards for the foreseeable future.

I have no need for true 4x4, as the truck sees asphalt only. I DO have the desire to have AWD, just as the Syclone/Typhoon had as traction is a major issue with my setup. Lowering slightly would be desirable, but nearly impossible with the D35 TTB for anything less than about an inch below stock and not sacrifice reasonable suspension travel for city use. I have looked at the BW4404/4410 as options, but the strength of the viscous coupling has driven me away from using them. A 4405 would be optimal, but without the GEM to control it, I am out of luck.

I almost wonder if I could not figure out how to adapt the 4405 to my ECU (I am running megasquirt), all it would have to do is be able to sense torque differential between rear and front outputs, right?

That's pretty much how I'm going to be once I get the full size truck going. At worst it'll see some dirt roads. I can't say I'd try this on a TTB though, they just weren't meant to have the front end under power all the time, especially at speed on asphalt. On my SLA I can at least bolt in the components from a live axle truck which were designed to be turning all the time.

The viscous coupling is definitely the biggest the problem with the full time AWD boxes. From my understanding their problem comes from heat, the fluid in the coupling heating up and degrading over time. Can't do anything about the fluid in the coupling, but might be able to add a cooler for the lube oil in the case. If you can keep the lube oil cooler it should be able to pull more heat out of the other components in the case. Shouldn't keep the viscous coupling from getting warm enough to work, but should help keep it from getting too hot and make it cool off quicker. If a oil cooler can be added to an axle differential, it should be possible to add one to a transfer case.

 

[downer]

the shift motors may be interchangable
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145635

Explorer (Non Sport Models)
1995-01 6 cyl 4.0L aluminum case, chain driven BW4405
2002-on 6 cyl 4.0L aluminum case, chain driven BW4411
2002-on 8 cyl 4.6L aluminum case, chain driven BW4410
1995-01 8 cyl 5.0L aluminum case, chain driven BW4404
2006-on 8 cyl 5.0L aluminum case, chain driven w/ 32 spline lnput BW4412
Explorer Sport and Sport Trac
1995-01 6 cyl 4.0L aluminum case, chain driven BW4405


EXPLORER 95-96 4 SP RWD/4X4 V6 4.0L 4R55E
EXPLORER 96-01 4 SP RWD/4X4 V8 5.0L 4R70W
EXPLORER 97-01 5 SP RWD/4X4 V6 4.0L 5R55E
EXPLORER 02-03 5 SP RWD/4X4 V6 4.0L, V8 4.6L 5R55W
EXPLORER 04-05 5 SP RWD/4X4 V6 4.0L, V8 4.6L 5R55S
EXPLORER/SPORT TRAC 06-08 5 SP RWD/4X4 V6 4.0L 5R55S
EXPLORER/SPORT TRAC 06-08 6 SP RWD/4X4 V8 4.6L 6R60
EXPLORER SPORT/SPORT TRAC 01-05 5 SP RWD/4X4 V6 4.0L 5R55E

4405 link 2
4405 link 1

 

[JoshT]

Seen that on Explorer Forums, but it says nothing about which transfer cases go to which transmissions and behind which engines.

 

[Patriot1776]

Hey! A thread that has my ideas bouncing all over in it already!

I've got a 1992 Ranger 4x4 4.0 auto trans with 3" of lift that has been demoted (or would that be promoted) to project truck status since I got my 95 f150 in May. I also have a 96 Explorer AWD/4x4 (it has the electronic switch) with a 5.0 in it that has also been put in the project category.

I've been thinking of taking the 5.0 out and rebuilding it for my f150 which has the same engine in it, but I don't want to scrap the AWD since it is awesome for our occasional slushy winter roads. I'd like to rebuild the ranger into a little runabout rig for getting stuff from town or for the (shudder) kids to drive since they'll be that age in a few years. I don't want to swap a v8 into the ranger, the 4.0 has plenty of power for what the truck will be.

I was kinda thinking of swapping the running gear from under the Explorer to the ranger.

It looks like we'll each just have to do a build and share our pictures and foibles with one another.

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[downer]

Seen that on Explorer Forums, but it says nothing about which transfer cases go to which transmissions and behind which engines.

edited my previous post, still can't find a transmission to transfer case list though.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Here are some sites I had saved. I don't know if they will have what your looking for but there will be some stuff worth reading.

http://www.rsgear.com/technical.aspx

http://www.manualtransmissionpart.com/TransferCase-Make-Model.html

http://www.manualtransmissionpart.com/FORD-Transfer-Case.html