What makes the 1354 stronger than 1350?

[Fordtoughranger]

I read the sticky on the different cases, but curious what makes the 1354 stronger than the 1350.
I have a electric 1354 in my 91 4.0L and I want to swap for a manual, which I have a manual 1350 from my 90 2.9L, is the only difference in the front output shaft and yoke versus the splined hollow shaft?
I would prefer the 1354 yoke style where the driveshaft extends/compresses instead of the spline floating in and out not always directly parallel to the direction of motion.

Also any advantage to the explorer 44-05 Tcase? I don't imagine a manual version would be easy to find?

Thanks
Fordtough

 

[Yellowsplash]

There isn’t a manual 44-05 case, they're all electric. They came in the control trac explorers in 95-01. They have a viscous clutch that allows most torque to remain at the rear wheels until slippage occurs (much like an awd car) and then the front transmits power to the ground. I don’t believe that’s what you want, unless you’re looking for a street worthy 4wd system.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the 1350 uses a 4 gear planetary, while the 1354 uses a 6 gear....though ive heard of virtually no failures of the "weak" 1350 planetary.

theres nothing wrong with the 1350's slip yoke output. the splines are parallel to the direction of force...thats the whole point of a u-joint, to change the direction of force. the only "downside" to the 1350 style slip yoke is that when (if) the slip yoke wears, the whole case needs to be torn down to rebuild it...versus just replacing the front driveline in the case of the 1354.

i dropped my electric 1354 for a manual 1350 the second i discovered i could...that was something like 4 years ago and i havnt regretted the decision once.

 

[Hahnsb2]

the 1350 uses a 4 gear planetary, while the 1354 uses a 6 gear....though ive heard of virtually no failures of the "weak" 1350 planetary.

theres nothing wrong with the 1350's slip yoke output. the splines are parallel to the direction of force...thats the whole point of a u-joint, to change the direction of force. the only "downside" to the 1350 style slip yoke is that when (if) the slip yoke wears, the whole case needs to be torn down to rebuild it...versus just replacing the front driveline in the case of the 1354.

i dropped my electric 1354 for a manual 1350 the second i discovered i could...that was something like 4 years ago and i havnt regretted the decision once.

Technically the 6 gear planetary in the 1354 didn't start till somewhere around 93. I wouldn't hesitate to swap out an electric 1354 with a manual 1350. Keep in mind you need to use the driveshaft from the 1350 t-case, if the donor rig had a D28 it will need to be shortened 1" for your D35, you can also find the correct driveshaft in a rig with an FM145 tranny (86-87 ranger/b2) because that tranny is shorter the front driveshaft is as well.

 

[mjonesjr]

Technically the 6 gear planetary in the 1354 didn't start till somewhere around 93. I wouldn't hesitate to swap out an electric 1354 with a manual 1350. Keep in mind you need to use the driveshaft from the 1350 t-case, if the donor rig had a D28 it will need to be shortened 1" for your D35, you can also find the correct driveshaft in a rig with an FM145 tranny (86-87 ranger/b2) because that tranny is shorter the front driveshaft is as well.

Agreed.

 

[surffishin07]

swapped one into my 94 4.0 from a 88 2.9 donor would do it again any time way to easy and no problems yet and im no feather foot pulled a s-10 usin 4lo on pavement and smoked the tires use the 1350 and have some fun...

 

[AllanD]

the most serious issue with swapping in a 13-50manual is that if you have
a Mazda manual trans there is only ONE manual shifter that will fit & function
and that shifter isn't particularly easy to find.

The issue with modifying a driveshaft (or any custom part) is that you
cannot use a stock (readily accessable in any junkyard) part incase you
need to replace it.

AD

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

then dont modify. this can be a 100% bolt-in swap if you find the correct donor rig (which really isnt THAT hard to find...i found one in cordova alaska after all ).

 

[Fordtoughranger]

Thanks for the info everyone!
A few weeks back I had swapped my manual 1350 in place of the 1354 electric and forgot to realize that my driveshaft was going to be too long. I could have shortened it in my Dads machine shop but decided to throw the electic 1354 back in until I swap my suspension lift from my wrecked 90 ranger to this one. Then the manual 1350 will swap back in and the driveshaft will fit.

I have the shifter mechanism, but I think I am going to work on making it not such a big diameter, as with my 3" bodylift a lot of trimming is required to allow for the complete movement.

 

[Evan]

There are lots of 4 gear 1354s. I have one.

That said, the planetary is in no way a weak point for the BW135x series t-cases. It doesn't matter if you have 4 or 6 gears. Something else WILL fail before the gears do.

The 1350 is just as strong as the 1354.

 

[metalmacguyver]

Lets get back to the origional question..... What is the difference in strenth between them?

IMHO, none. The major difference lies in that the 1350 has a slip yoke and the 1354 has a fixed yoke. Why do you think that they have slip yoke eliminator kits for trannys and tcases that cost several hundred dollars depending on model? Because havinga slip joint there is just a bad Idea. The amount of travel that you can get is very limited and can be exeded by the suspension travel if the suspension is set up right or if the axle is the wrong distance from the Tcase.

I would say that a STX Highrider 1350 Tcase with the fixed front output is equally as strong as a 1354.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[4x4junkie]

The internal u-joint just behind the slip is where the 1350 is slightly weaker (the STX case also uses a u-joint there). Everything else about the two cases is essentially the same. The actual slip-spline itself is not a weak point on the 1350.

The biggest reason those slip-yoke kits are sold for Jeeps is because it allows installation of a longer rear driveshaft (stock Wrangler shafts are EXTREMELY short). A 2nd reason is a fixed yoke doesn't leak when the shaft is removed. Neither of these are concerns on the 1350.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

ive never actually seen the internal u-joint fail...though my experience with broken RBV t-cases is limited (they just dont break very often..the 50 or the 54).

ive seen a few broken chains and some bad bearings causing noise, but thats it.

 

[4x4junkie]

(they just dont break very often..the 50 or the 54).

Very true.

I wouldn't really worry much about a t-case failure on either one. Many other parts in the driveline generally will fail first.

 

[metalmacguyver]

So the only way really to see which is stronger would be to destructively test two tcases to the point of failure.

Ok........ Who wants to do it? I'll donate an electric 1354!