well, after another electronic shift motor going bad on my ranger, I decided to see if I could redneck up my own version of a manual shifter. Using parts from one of the old motors. Figured whats the worst that could happen. Motor was bad anyways, so if it didnt work no loss.
Here's what I ended up doing.
Step one, take the old motor apart. Seperate the two halves, and gut the half that connects to the knob on the case.
I took the gear that has the hole for the knob on the case (the part that rotates to switch the case) and I welded an old bolt to it.
and here it is sitting in the motor casing.
I then drilled a hole in the back cover that used to have the wiring going to it, go keep the thing sealed up from moisture and dirt.
and to finish it off, I welded a wrench to the bolt. So now I just have to reach under the truck and turn the wrench to the desired 4x4 position!
So there it is, super redneck but the damn thing works pretty great! has been on the truck for about 500 miles now, have used 4x4 multiple times including about an hours worth of fun in the snow today and it has been working flawlessly.