Need help designing a shifter
Posted by hulet1006@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 18 comments
Not sure where else to ask for help. The shaft on the left rotates to the left and right about 30° and moves in and out about an inch. I need to somehow connect it to a rod that’s about 2 inches higher, while being able to rotate and move accordingly. My only idea was 3 gears stacked to achieve it, but see if anyone had any better ideas?
Heavy-Focus-1964@reddit
Threedawg@reddit
Tbf thats an excellent leprechaun
Ambivadox@reddit
Would really help to know what vehicle, transmission, and transfer case. 98.735% chance you're overcomplicating things.
Could also look at cable options such as
https://jb-custom-fabrication.myshopify.com/
hulet1006@reddit (OP)
2021 Q60, 6GP trans, and stock AWD transfer case.
Ponklemoose@reddit
A lot of FWD cars use cables, you might consider adapting that setup.
Aleutian_Solution@reddit
Is that a shifter linkage?
hulet1006@reddit (OP)
Yes, essentially need to move the shifter linkage up 2 inches to clear the transfer case for this manual swap.
Aleutian_Solution@reddit
Why not get a couple of swivel joints or some heims and bolt the bars together?
hulet1006@reddit (OP)
If you just directly connect them, the throw from left to right is going to be massively increased.
Far_Kangaroo2550@reddit
Why?
hulet1006@reddit (OP)
Because your fulcrum stays the same but your lever increases in length.
Far_Kangaroo2550@reddit
In my head I was imagining the black/orange version, which should still work. The blue/yellow version would not work. But I don't know the constraints of the space, so the swivel joints in black/orange may not be viable.
I agree three gears could work, but translating the fore/aft movement to the other rod would add some challenges to that idea. Maybe a separate cable mechanism for that aspect?
Do you have a photo of the space you're working with?
hulet1006@reddit (OP)
I don’t, but from the tail shaft to the front of the transfer case is about 3 inches, so not a lot of room unfortunately
Far_Kangaroo2550@reddit
The limiting factor for the swivel joints would be the space above the transmission in the tunnel, which could be cut. What vehicle/motor/trans are you workin on?
To make a gearbox solution work, you'll need a fairly custom deal. But it could fit in a small package.
Aleutian_Solution@reddit
What you could do is just get rid of that rear rod and extend the forward one back to the connection on the transmission and just raise the connection on the trans with a bolt or something similar
FocusedADD@reddit
If I'm imagining this correctly couldn't you use two universal joints like a drive shaft? Pair of rag joints from a steering column? If you can keep the connecting shaft under 45° the input/output shouldn't fight one another too hard. Might need bushings to keep the in/out movement linear, but I don't know how harsh the T case shifts.
TREXIBALL@reddit
Nice cylinder. It’d be a shame if it, uhh… got stuck.
Aleutian_Solution@reddit
The cylinder must not be damaged