- Joined
- May 31, 2026
- Messages
- 1
- Points
- 1
- City
- GRAY COURT
- State - Country
- SC - USA
- Vehicle Year
- 1994
- Vehicle
- Ford Ranger
- Drive
- 4WD
- Engine
- 4.0 V6
- Transmission
- Manual
- Total Lift
- 2"
- Tire Size
- 33"
Posted on Reddit, but wanted to post here too to see if anyone wanted to help with testing. The reddit post has a video of all of this working together,
Wanted to share something I've been working on the past few months. Bought a 1994 Mazda B4000 (we all know it's a Ford Ranger, really) with 4WD in mid-March for really cheap in the goals of fixing it up and making it a trail toy. Turns out a lot more things needed fixing than I hoped, and one of the components was the electric shift motor for the transfer case. The wiring in the truck was a mess, and turns out there was a short in the harness between the module for the electric shift motor and the motor itself.
I didn't really want to deal with the wiring or electric motor anymore, so ditched the motor, module, and all relevant wiring. At the time, I was eager to just do a manual transfer case swap, but could not find the shifter or the bracket anywhere, even in junkyards.
Rather than paying the $1000+ for the Behemoth Drivetrains electric to manual shift conversion, I set a goal to make my own, hopefully for less than $100. It uses a Dewalt right angle impact rated 1/4" bit adapter, driving a 1/2 drive to 1/4 hex drive in "reverse" with a 3D printed key that slips onto the shaft of the transfer case. A cam on the 1/2" adapter presses limit switches in the mount with the goal of being able to see the dash lights for 4x4 high and low light up. The right angle adapter, combined with some flexible 1/4" shafts means that I can have a Shiftster style knob mounted to the frame of the truck, and all you need to to get in and out of 4WD is reach under the cab of the truck and turn the knob.
Upside here is that if you have manual hubs (like I do) you have to get out of the truck to turn those hubs, so might as well turn the transfer case into 4WD while you're at it.
Downside is you lose the convienience of electric shift on the fly.
I reckon this mod would be for ones who are tired of dealing with the electric shift motors going bad or the modules that drive them.I have 3D printed and tested these components all together, and they seem to work great, but I haven't had a chance to actually drive around with it or see how it handles off road.I was curious to see if anyone would be interested in being a test dummy to see if this would handle real world scenarios. I can send the stls and a list of other parts needed, or 3D print them myself and mail them off, along with the hardware for a small cost.
Wanted to share something I've been working on the past few months. Bought a 1994 Mazda B4000 (we all know it's a Ford Ranger, really) with 4WD in mid-March for really cheap in the goals of fixing it up and making it a trail toy. Turns out a lot more things needed fixing than I hoped, and one of the components was the electric shift motor for the transfer case. The wiring in the truck was a mess, and turns out there was a short in the harness between the module for the electric shift motor and the motor itself.
I didn't really want to deal with the wiring or electric motor anymore, so ditched the motor, module, and all relevant wiring. At the time, I was eager to just do a manual transfer case swap, but could not find the shifter or the bracket anywhere, even in junkyards.
Rather than paying the $1000+ for the Behemoth Drivetrains electric to manual shift conversion, I set a goal to make my own, hopefully for less than $100. It uses a Dewalt right angle impact rated 1/4" bit adapter, driving a 1/2 drive to 1/4 hex drive in "reverse" with a 3D printed key that slips onto the shaft of the transfer case. A cam on the 1/2" adapter presses limit switches in the mount with the goal of being able to see the dash lights for 4x4 high and low light up. The right angle adapter, combined with some flexible 1/4" shafts means that I can have a Shiftster style knob mounted to the frame of the truck, and all you need to to get in and out of 4WD is reach under the cab of the truck and turn the knob.
Upside here is that if you have manual hubs (like I do) you have to get out of the truck to turn those hubs, so might as well turn the transfer case into 4WD while you're at it.
Downside is you lose the convienience of electric shift on the fly.
I reckon this mod would be for ones who are tired of dealing with the electric shift motors going bad or the modules that drive them.I have 3D printed and tested these components all together, and they seem to work great, but I haven't had a chance to actually drive around with it or see how it handles off road.I was curious to see if anyone would be interested in being a test dummy to see if this would handle real world scenarios. I can send the stls and a list of other parts needed, or 3D print them myself and mail them off, along with the hardware for a small cost.
