The Shiftster

[Seekers]

Has anyone ordered 1 from shiftster.com. I see mixed reviews on his youtube page and facebook. Want to know how legitimate Richard is and how solid is the product.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I ordered one several years ago. It came quickly. Quality is good. I added a detente for neutral for flat towing. He was not doing business for awhile but AFAIK is back at it.
I've had it in my race truck and most recently in my 94 Ranger. I just pulled it out last week as I fixed the wiring for the electrical t-case motor. It's dirty but in good shape.

 

[Curious Hound]

I think he runs batches. Then has to order parts to make a new batch. Seemed like a good guy when I communicated with him to place my order in January. I keep forgetting about it. I just sent him a reminder. I guess if you're in a hurry it can be a pain. But if you're patient, all is good. It's probably a side business for him.

I'm looking forward to receiving it. All indications are that it's a great product and at that price, I'm not willing to engineer and fabricate my own.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I have one. I bought a 2001 Ford Ranger 4x4 that was stuck in 4LO. Once I paid the guy, I crawled under the truck, removed the t-case shift motor, bolted on the shiftster, put it in 2WD, and drove it home on the freeway.

My only suggestion is that the shift motor is held on with (3) long bolts, and (1) short. I would recommend finding the bolt size of the short bolt, and carry (3) of them with your shifter.

I wrote about this HERE.

http://www.therangerstation.com/how...bleshooting-your-automatic-4x4-transfer-case/

I keep ‘The Shiftster’ in my toolbox in case I should ever have a problem with a transfer case shift motor. Using one is very easy. There’s (4) 10mm bolts that mount the transfer case motor to the transfer case. The Shiftster didn’t come with any bolts, but the transfer case is held on with (3) long bolts, and (1) short one. I was able to use the (1) short bolt, and (2) of the long ones to hold the shiftster in place.

You can see in the photo below how the stock bolts are to long. The short bolt was able to hold it against the case, and the long bolts were able to keep the shifter from rotating back out of 2WD.

 

[Seekers]

I think he runs batches. Then has to order parts to make a new batch. Seemed like a good guy when I communicated with him to place my order in January. I keep forgetting about it. I just sent him a reminder. I guess if you're in a hurry it can be a pain. But if you're patient, all is good. It's probably a side business for him.

I'm looking forward to receiving it. All indications are that it's a great product and at that price, I'm not willing to engineer and fabricate my own.

lmk when you get yours. I spoke with him today. He said he as mailing out the last batch and replenishing in the next 11 business days.

 

[Biohazard_40]

Where do I find this device? Want it ready to go if I can’t get my shift motor working.

 

[Curious Hound]

Where do I find this device? Want it ready to go if I can’t get my shift motor working.

A quick Google search says....

Shiftster

 

[Biohazard_40]

I actually found that immediately after my post, but thanks.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I wonder how hard it would be to make up some in cab linkages to mount to that thing...

 

[Curious Hound]

I wonder how hard it would be to make up some in cab linkages to mount to that thing...

The trick is that full operation requires more than 180 degrees of rotation. So doing it with typical pivoting lever style shift mechanisms doesn't work too good. I guess if you could rig a rotating knob in the cab, connected with some gears or chains and shafts or something you could do it. But it would be a lot of engineering effort.

 

[RonD]

Well you can get some pretty heavy duty rotary sheathed cables, flexible drive shafts
Mount shiftster in the cab with rotary cable running down to shift rod

 

[Efordman]

Why not a twist cable like a speedo cable with a knob mounted under the dash or beside the shifter... Twist the knob and feel for the detent

 

[dirtcowboy]

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1160665-ranger-4wd-manual-shift-conversion.html I used this dudes method, cheap easy and,,,CHEAP

 

[Efordman]

Or a Motorcycle throttle cable with dual cables... Mount the twist part around your shifter just below the shift knob or over to the side

 

[RonD]

Just updating this thread since Shiftster seems to be gone

Electric to Manual conversion here, with shifter in cab: https://behemothdrivetrain.com/prod...sfer-case-electric-to-manual-shift-conversion

Haven't tried it myself