Gaging interest in resurrecting the Shiftster

[SenorNoob]

^This. It's to the point that you need rotational force, then you have the problem of locating your stops. Before you know it, you've made the shift motor again...

 

[4x4junkie]

I can't say I'm interested in owning this since my transfer case is manual shift.

I bet there would be interest in a remote shiftster option! Instead of attaching a round knob to the place formerly occupied by the electric motor, add a lever. With this I bet you could adapt a short automatic transmission push-pull cable and a hurst-like ratchet shifter to make the transfer case shiftable without laying in the mud.

I think the problem with a cable actuated from the side is the shifter needs to turn approximately 270°. And I'm not sure if a twist type cable can work.

I've posted before about creating a drum (pulley) & cable mechanism to shift these, with a 'wind-back' spring that returns the drum to the 2WD position when cable tension is released (a lever pulls the cable, unwinding it 270° from the drum (shifting it thru 4-HI, N, finally to 4-LO)... Pushing the lever back releases the cable, the return spring then rewinds the cable back onto the drum, returning it to 2WD)... Or maybe a small rack-n-pinion gear with a solid push-pull cable (rack attached to end of cable, pinion mounted on the shifter shaft).

I'd probably have more ambition to design something like this if I had a malfunctioning e-shift case, but mine are all manual. But I still can brainstorm ideas for you guys to use though...

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I've posted before about creating a drum (pulley) & cable mechanism to shift these, with a 'wind-back' spring that returns the drum to the 2WD position when cable tension is released (a lever pulls the cable, unwinding it 270° from the drum (shifting it thru 4-HI, N, finally to 4-LO)... Pushing the lever back releases the cable, the return spring then rewinds the cable back onto the drum, returning it to 2WD)... Or maybe a small rack-n-pinion gear with a solid push-pull cable (rack attached to end of cable, pinion mounted on the shifter shaft).

I'd probably have more ambition to design something like this if I had a malfunctioning e-shift case, but mine are all manual. But I still can brainstorm ideas for you guys to use though...

I've never seen that post, but good idea.

 

[JoshT]

I've posted before about creating a drum (pulley) & cable mechanism to shift these, with a 'wind-back' spring that returns the drum to the 2WD position when cable tension is released (a lever pulls the cable, unwinding it 270° from the drum (shifting it thru 4-HI, N, finally to 4-LO)... Pushing the lever back releases the cable, the return spring then rewinds the cable back onto the drum, returning it to 2WD)... Or maybe a small rack-n-pinion gear with a solid push-pull cable (rack attached to end of cable, pinion mounted on the shifter shaft).

I'd probably have more ambition to design something like this if I had a malfunctioning e-shift case, but mine are all manual. But I still can brainstorm ideas for you guys to use though...

You're talking about a spiral spring right? Like a giant clock spring, an actual time piece clock spring, not the one behind your steering wheel. Not sure hot much erxtra machinging it would take to fit in a spring that would work for that. Seems like it would have to be pretty large and strong. Also if your cable breaks then the spring automatically runs the selector all the way back in the other direction.

You could do it like a motorcycle twist throttle. Some like my Honda have two cables with a drum like you described on the carburetor, one cable pulling in each direction. On the bike both ends are doing a twisting motion, but a lever with enough throw should do the same thing. Move the lever in one direction and that cable pulls the drum in that direction. Move the lever in the opposite direction and the other cable pulls the drum in the other direction, rewinding the first cable as it goes. Each cable would have to wrap around the drum far enough to get the full range, so there would be overlap at the ends. Add a detent and plate at the lever end for positions. If one or both cables break it's going to stay in last position since there's no spring pressure, you've just got to climb underneath if you need to shift it.

Depending on how they are making these new ones, it could be as simple as developing a lever/cable/drum system that can attach to or in place of the knob. That seems like a whole separate project for someone to figure out after the basic unit gets out there.

 

[97RangerXLT]

I've posted before about creating a drum (pulley) & cable mechanism to shift these, with a 'wind-back' spring that returns the drum to the 2WD position when cable tension is released (a lever pulls the cable, unwinding it 270° from the drum (shifting it thru 4-HI, N, finally to 4-LO)... Pushing the lever back releases the cable, the return spring then rewinds the cable back onto the drum, returning it to 2WD)... Or maybe a small rack-n-pinion gear with a solid push-pull cable (rack attached to end of cable, pinion mounted on the shifter shaft).

I'd probably have more ambition to design something like this if I had a malfunctioning e-shift case, but mine are all manual. But I still can brainstorm ideas for you guys to use though...

Another thought. this would require a hole in the floor above the shiftster and a strap/ bar to stabilize the shaft that goes through the floor. but put a ring gear on the shfster in place of the knob, run a shaft with a worm gear that engages the ring gear up through the floor and then put the knob on the end of that shaft. you would probably want some kind of rubber grommet to keep dust and water out of the cabin. also might have to do quite a bit of cranking on the knob depending on the worm gear/ ring gear ratio. but it would be a simple mechanical device. will need to service that gear with some grease occasionally unless you enclose it which will add more to the cost/ complexity.

AJ

 

[4x4junkie]

You're talking about a spiral spring right? Like a giant clock spring, an actual time piece clock spring, not the one behind your steering wheel. Not sure hot much erxtra machinging it would take to fit in a spring that would work for that. Seems like it would have to be pretty large and strong. Also if your cable breaks then the spring automatically runs the selector all the way back in the other direction.

Correct, like a clockspring, or maybe even more like a shorter/smaller version of the spring on a roll-up garage door pulley system (I want to say the throttle return spring on the throttle body is like this too). It would have to be strong enough to overcome the shift detent resistance in the t-case, plus maybe another 50% more just for reliability. The detent resistance isn't very much, a few inch-lbs I recall.
A broken cable would cause it to snap back to 2WD, yes.

Another thought. this would require a hole in the floor above the shiftster and a strap/ bar to stabilize the shaft that goes through the floor. but put a ring gear on the shfster in place of the knob, run a shaft with a worm gear that engages the ring gear up through the floor and then put the knob on the end of that shaft. you would probably want some kind of rubber grommet to keep dust and water out of the cabin. also might have to do quite a bit of cranking on the knob depending on the worm gear/ ring gear ratio. but it would be a simple mechanical device. will need to service that gear with some grease occasionally unless you enclose it which will add more to the cost/ complexity.

AJ

Use a 4:1 gear ratio:
One full turn = 4-HI,
Two full turns = N,
Three full turns = 4-LO.

Three turns back the other way = 2WD.

I've never seen that post, but good idea.

Post in thread '2002 Ranger electric transfer case conversion'

Aug 16, 2025

Has nobody ever written up building cable-shifting for these cases? Either a push-pull cable with a manual tcase, or a rotary cable with a Shiftster?

I've suggested this here in the past of using a cable & drum system on it (cable & pulley, rotating wheel, etc.).
As the cable is pulled, it "unwinds" from the drum (shifting it to 4HI, then N, then 4LO). When the cable is released, a circular spring then winds the pulley & cable back to the 2HI position.

The lever you use to pull the cable with can have detents on it for 2HI, 4HI, N, 4LO. An unknown would be how finicky your cable...

• 4x4junkie

• 

This one, a user started to do exactly what JoshT explained using two cables (I forgot about this one):

Thread '1354E manual conversion build'

Aug 22, 2008

I finally got tired of going under my truck to lock in the 4wd. Had 2 shift motors go bad on me, and now the module is bad. I can get a 1354M, but I don't have the money right now. I have an extra t-case, some parts, and work is slow as hell. That's when I got to thinkin...

The Plan: Build a setup that utilizes bicycle brake cabes to turn "shift rod"
-I've read too many times the problem with making a linkage is that you can't get a linkage to produce 270* of rotation. A cable wrapped around a pulley will rotate until there is no more cable to pull. Utilizing 2 cables one to engage(green)...

• UrbanRedneckKid
• Replies: 17
• Forum: Transmission, Transfer Case, Hubs & Driveshafts

OP ran out of $$$ and never finished it though.

 

[JoshT]

A broken cable would cause it to snap back to 2WD, yes.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, I tend to do that, but I see this being a very bad thing.
Cable rotates the shaft through this pattern:

2 => 4H => N (unmarked but there) => 4L

If you use a spring an the cable snaps, it rotates the opposite direction until it stops in 2wd.

If you're in 4H when it snaps, it jumps back to 2wd. Mostly an inconcenience. If you happen to be pulling hard in 4H and the front axle suddenly disconnects, it does suddenly drop all that load onto the back axle and driveshaft. The shock load couldn't be good for them.

There's no Neutral position marked on the selector in the cab or on the outside case, but there is one built into the transfer case. Locating it and placing the transfer case in the neutral position has been mentioned as one of the perks of the Shiftster, and there a few reasons to want to use it. One is flat towing, it neutral disengages the disengages the transmission from the driveshafts so it isn't being spun tow. Imagine if you will that the cable pops while you're being pulled along at 35-55 MPH and the transfer case drops back into 4H then 2wd. The pump on the 4/5R transmissions is on the input shaft, if it isn't turning the fluid isn't pumping, so suddenly you're running the transmission dry. Imagine if the transmission were in the park or a gear position (forward or reverse), being towed because it was stuck there, or not thought about because the t-case is in neutral. That shock load definitely wouldn't be good for the system. In park it's probably going to break the parking paw, in gear its going to do a bunch more internal damage.

Finally imagine if you had it down in 4lo on the side of a mountain, pulling hard, trying to climb up and over an obstacle. Cable snaps. Transfer case drops into neutral. It's like breaking a driveshaft, except it's both of them are gone simultaneously and you're free to toll down hill until you get on the brakes to stop. While you're reacting to that the shaft continues on around to dopping into the 4H and you have that shock load again, except it's a lot worse because your engine RPMs shot up from the loss of load and you were freewheeling backwards down the hill/obstacle. Talk about a bad situation. If something wasn't broke before, it probably is now.

I wouldn't place bets on any of these actually happening, but IMO spring loading the shaft creates and/or amplifies the possibility and asking for trouble. There is a reason that the Ford put in controls to prevent the transfer case from shifting in certain conditions. Pure manual operation you atleast have the human controls to mimic that. The spring isn't going to care.

This one, a user started to do exactly what JoshT explained using two cables (I forgot about this one):

Glad to see I wasn't the only one with the idea, but unfortunate that he abandoned the project. I think he would have been better off to start from scratch, than try to adapt the parts he was using. It wouldn't have been an option then, but with todays 3D printer filaments, you could probably design and print a functional and usable drum to adapt cables to the Shifster. You could probably 3D print the whole conversion kit except for the cables, but I'd rather have a solid material for the lever and mounts.