We're still not sure about that, though. Orochimaru just speculated that this was the technique used to seal Kyuubi. If it was, then it was used in an extremely unorthodox way, involving a third party and sealing an entire demon inside said party, so it's not unthinkable that the outcome would have been different, too. Maybe the Fourth just used the same sealing technique as opposed to the Shinigami no Jutsu and died because he used up all of his chakra....