1354 Electric to Manual Conversion

[DeadEye200321]

Hello everyone, I’m on a mission to get a manual transfer case as my electric one is no longer working and I think it’s due to some corrosion as my smart junction box and I don’t want to replace the smart junction box to deal with the crappy electric shift, I want a manual transfer case. As far as I’m aware I found one post about somebody converting there electric 1354 to a manual but that was about it and the details were vague with no photos documenting the process. Does anyone have insight either with pictures or a creation of their own? I was thinking of somehow using the manual linkages from a 1350 to modifying the 1354 case to accept the manual linkages somehow, any help whether it be photos or pictures of there own creation or pointing me in the right direction of who to talk to would be great appreciated, if I can get all the information to do the modification myself I will try and make documentation of it, I have the skills to do it, I just don’t know where to start, so any help is greatly appreciated. Unless someone already has a 1354 manual they would be willing to sell/let go I’d love to purchase that off them and pay for shipping, it looks like making my own manual is the only way to go as I simply cannot find a used manual 1354 anywhere, I’ve checked marketplace, junkyards, eBay and have found nothing. I’ll post the photos of my transfer case housing in the hopes that someone can tell me what things need to be machined/fabricated if people know of a way to make it work. Thank you in advance and let me know if you are selling one and I’ll gladly purchase it from you!

 

[PlumCrazy]

Very spendy...but there is this:

Borg Warner Electric to Manual Shift Conversion Kit

Electric Motors Love to Fail: It’s frustrating and expensive to have your electric motor fail on your Borg Warner transfer case when you really need 4WD. Get rid of that faulty electric shift motor and bolt on our cable shift conversion kit to get full manual control of your Borg Warner...

www.behemothdrivetrain.com

Or maybe use it a concept to make your own actuator on the rear where the motor was vs where the actual manual shift shaft would be.

Like this:

How to: - Converting the Electric Transfer Case Shift Motor to Manual

A while back I mentioned that I had an idea for converting the electric shift motor for the Explorer Transfer Case into a manual drive unit. Here is a write up with some pictures of my first attempt. Perhaps this can spark some curiosity and engineering efforts amongst the Explorerforum...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've thought of making a push/pull cable and modifying the stock gear to have a slot in it then guide the cable around the gear so it could be pushed as well as pulled and make a stick in the cab with detents... if any of that makes sense that is...

 

[SenorNoob]

I tried this, with hand tools. What you really need is drill press and a jig.

Drill 2 holes slightly undersized and polish for fit is really all that need to be done, IF you have the manual shift parts from a 1350. Both are in the front half case.
1 is the hole that the shift shaft goes through. I did ok on this one even though I couldn't find a large enough drill bit. I used sandpaper on a rod in the drill to enlarge the hole to the right size. A proper drill bit would've been easy and clean. The exterior hole is already started in in the casting.
2 is for the shifter detent. I believe the easiest way to do this one is to drill from the outside but finding the location and squaring the drill is where I failed. I intended to drill through and insert the detent from the outside and install an appropriately sized pipe plug behind the detent and spring.

Post in thread 'SenorNoob's '88 Ext Cab "Build"'

Mar 11, 2025

1352 attempt was a bust. After spending 4 hours getting the shift shaft hole just right, I miss drilled the hole for the shifter detent and ruined the front half case. I'm waiting on help to get the 1350 back in my truck tomorrow. I'm going to dump some pictures below.

1350 4-gear planetary and manual shift mechanism.

Another angle of the manual shift mechanism. You can just see the shifter detent under the shift plate in this picture. The whole that it sets in is what I messed up. I didn't have a long enough drill bit to drill from the top so...

• SenorNoob