Ranger OD shifter

[cabledawg]

Hey guys, waiting on my Ranger OD to show up, but in the meantime, I'm looking into other shifter options for the OD box. I want to avoid using two sticks and instead have the 465 shifter with an electric center off switch mounted on it. One direction will be for OD and the other for 1:1. I found some pneumatic cylinders and I have an on-demand air pump that should be pushing 100 psi, just not alot of volume. The switch will actuate the pump and open one soleniod (A or B) valve moving the cylinder in one direction or the other for the shifts. The cylinder will be mounted to the side of the 465 by means of homemade bracket.

What i would like is if anyone sees an issue with this setup ( if the attached pic doesnt work, try to use your imagination) and if something is wrong, what are the solutions. Originally I was going to use a cable operated push/pull button onthe stick, but I know that setup wont have the leverage nor the travel to make the shifts. So I came up with this setup.

 

[cabledawg]

And yes I'll be using relays, I just simplified the drawing.

 

[imiceman44]

And yes I'll be using relays, I just simplified the drawing.

What would the relays be for if you are using air cylinders?
Why not use an air switch like the big rigs?
Or is that on demand air compressor what need the relays and it will be working instantly to switch and then go off?

 

[cabledawg]

The demand pump will use the relay. Now that I think about it, the solenoids have such little draw that I could just hard wire them into the switch.

See this is why I put this stuff on here. Otherwise I'd end up doing more than needed or not enough.

I dont really want to use an air switch because I dont have a constant air source yet. If I go with the York/A6 OBA, then that might be a possiblity down the road.

 

[dyeager535]

What about using vacuum? Enough engine vacuum to do what you want to do? Possible?

 

[cabledawg]

Do you mean using vacuum to draw the cylinder in the shift positions instead of pressure to push the cylinder? Would the engine produce enough vacuum to do that? I'd have to install a vacuum gauge to see if mine is up to par, but I was planning that anyways. I dont have cruise on this truck and I highly doubt I'll need to shift at the same time I'm using the brakes, but I dont know how much vacuum is needed to draw the cylinder.

 

[thedrip]

I foresee a problem with response time. The on demand pump is going to take some amount of time to build enough pressure to move the air cylinder and shift the case. It may also partially engage until it reaches a certain pressure. You will definitely have to have someone operate the switch while you watch underneath the truck to figure out how long you have to wait before the OD box is completely shifted.

 

[cabledawg]

I thought about that, too. The pump was for an air horn, so it builds up pretty fast, but I might just get everything together to see how it works before I put it in the truck. If it doesnt work with the pump, maybe it'll give me enough reason to install a York/A6 for OBA and just tap into that.

 

[Stomis]

So your looking to shift your OD box using using an actuator of some type controlled by a button?

I have seen this done before. I believe it was an old episode of trucks when that guy stacy still hosted it. He had a TH350 with an OD tailshaft unit. It was pretty cool stuff. The setup he made had a ratchet shifter with a button on a t handle. You would shift up then tap the button, shift down tap the button. I believe he used an electric soloneoid vs air though.

The idea is definately doable. I would just be looking for some high quality components so any offroading debris like good old mud doesnt F with your acctuator and suddenly your stuck OD.

 

[dremu]

Kert from DIY4X has a thread going about his crewcab, and he's doing electric actuators for the t-case, as I recall. It's lengthy, but check out starting about here

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147616&highlight=crewcab&page=40

Somewhere in that thread there's a link to a Pirate thread about air actuators, tons of good info though also a lengthy read.

I'm thinking an electric setup might be just the ticket in your case.

-- A

 

[cabledawg]

I'm not worried about too much debris as this is on the tow rig. If its getting that dirty up there, the rest of the truck is probable getting destroyed at which time who cares if its working right.

I thought about electric, but all I could find was solenoids for one direction shifts (like for drag racing)or auto shift actuators for motorcycles. So if someone knows where to find a bi-directional actuator that doesnt cost $1k, let me know.

 

[dremu]

I thought about electric, but all I could find was solenoids for one direction shifts (like for drag racing)or auto shift actuators for motorcycles. So if someone knows where to find a bi-directional actuator that doesnt cost $1k, let me know.

Bunch of links and info in Kert's thread; IIRC his stuff was less than a coupla hundred bucks for a coupla actuators and the controller, etc.

-- A

 

[cabledawg]

I'm goin through it right now, but not finding the answers I'm looking for yet. I looked the last page with the video and it looks slick. Similar to the motorcycle setups, but bigger and doesnt go back to center after the shift (which I dont want anyways). I remember seeing this thread last year and Kert has some awesome stuff going on in his shop. I'd love to be a fly on the wall as I could definately use some schoolin on fabricating.

Added: I found an ebay listing for the exact thing Kert used. The price is cheap enough but the stats on the actuators state that most only travel 0.5 to 0.7 inches per second. With a guesstimated travel of 3" it could take 4 seconds to shift. That might be a little too slow for me. I did find the controller module, so if I come across a faster actuator, this could be a viable solution. I'd have to rewire the module for only two positions and for use on a toggle instead of a push button, but the info on Kert's thread has simple wiring diagrams that I can use.

I still would like input from anyone else as I havent made a decision yet as to which way I'll go. I'm still waiting for the OD and I want to get the pneumatic actuators to se how much pressure/volume is needed and how fast it moves under load.

 

[80' 427]

Ours is a 2 speed rear, I guess I wasn't clear. I would think a solenoid would work as long as you clutched.

 

[cabledawg]

When I got the OD I hooked it up to my spare 465 and fabbed the mounting brackets for the air cylinder. Initially I had a bike pump and it took alot of pressure to change gears. But I'm one for seeing the whole setup before giving up. I put together most of the setup I wanted to use (I'll get a sketch added here shortly) and mocked it up on the trans/OD.

Using 100psi in my aux air tank from the other truck, I could hit the switch and shift the OD instantly. I took it down as far as 50psi before I started having issues. The cylinder I started with is small but the soleniods are huge so I was losing some air volume there. No a big deal if I have a pump on the system. I have two other cylinders that are much larger diameter, but not as much stroke. Eventually I tried all three but the small one worked best.

Short of the pump and soleniods, I installed everything in the truck. Since I cut a huge section of floor out, I wasnt worried about clearance onthe air cylinder. I bought a chunk of sheet metal and wanted to form that around the trans/OD. I installed the trans about 1.5" higher than it was supposed to be to keep from hitting the crossmember (2wd Burb sits pretty close to the ground). As I was forming the sheetmetal I found the bracket on the OD side of the cylinder stuck up so high it kept me from being able to seal up the floor properly, or worse yet, the carpet wouldnt fit. So it was move the gas pedal left about 2" (too close to the brake for me), not install the carpet and the right foot is right against the sheetmetal, or forego the air shifter. I now have two sticks in my 2wd Burb.

After a year of driving, I'm used to the OD stick. I need to heat/bend it a bit closer so I dont have to lean forward at all. But now for round two on the air shifter. I think if I install the cylinder above the floor board I could easily make it work. Maybe leave a short handle in case the air goes out. As much as I'd like to go electric, I just dont see it as a viable option simply due to the amount of time it takes for a linear actuator.

 

[80' 427]

2 sticks would be fine I was just thinking it would be trick to have it like our 5&2 setups.

 

[cabledawg]

Here is a very basic sketch. The blue/green things are the soleniods. Green is supply, blue is exhaust. When I hit the switch, it opens the supply on one side and the exhaust on the other. Vice versa for the other direction.

I thought about using only two soleniods and installing check valves, but never could make it work right on paper. Four worked the best in all the sketches. My first layout also used a demand pump, but I have since changed that to an OBA system with a 5gal tank. Well, it would have been if I'd finished it

 

[cabledawg]

2 sticks would be fine I was just thinking it would be trick to have it like our 5&2 setups.

That was the whole reason for my setup. Since the Ranger OD is driven similar to a 4/5+2, why not make the shifter the same

My next truck (if there is one) will have a true 8/9/10 spd witha Detriot diesel. That'll be fun to drive