'83 Ranger diesel swap into '99 Ranger 4x4 Supercab

Hello all,
I am hoping to get a bit of advice on a project that I am looking at taking on involving placing my rebuilt 2.2L perkins diesel from an '83 ranger into my '99 Ranger 4x4. I have had my '83 for a very long time and the shell has met the end of its useful life, however the motor is still going very strong (since it's rebuild in '08. I added a turbonetics turbo to it with 5.5lbs boost and it really seemed to bring it to life. I recently came across a '99 Ranger 4x4 with a head gasket issue and I just could not pass it up for the price. Everything is in great to pristine shape on it, sans the engine and I figured this would be a great opportunity for a transplant. I have an old 2.2l perkins that is in need of a rebuild that I figured I would use as a template in order to fab an adapter to the existing automatic transmission. Here are the questions that I have for any and all enthusiasts and professionals out there:
1) Will the auto trans hold up to a 2.2l diesels torque?
2) Should I change the gear ratio? Only need to go 70mph tops
3) Can I still use the majority of the wiring besides engine harness?
4) Is there a universal diesel tach pickup to work with my guage cluster?
5) Key is a transponder,will that mess with anything?

I am a decent fabricator and I have a good shop to do this in, plus I have good connections with other fab shops to assist in anything that is beyond my ability in that regard. I am not concerned about emissions or such on this new of vehicle as I never plan to sell it, nor do I live in an area that has or will have emission in the near future.
Thanks for reading the post. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.

Ayyub Ansari said:

1) Will the auto trans hold up to a 2.2l diesels torque?
2) Should I change the gear ratio? Only need to go 70mph tops
3) Can I still use the majority of the wiring besides engine harness?
4) Is there a universal diesel tach pickup to work with my guage cluster?
5) Key is a transponder,will that mess with anything?

Click to expand...

There is no way in hell that engine could hurt any transmission unless you dropped it on it. It's doubtful that you could get THAT tranny to work, though, as it's electronically controlled. Even the early A4LD has one or two electrical solenoids for over-drive and lock-up. I think you need to plan on using the tranny that comes behind the engine, and I assume it's a manual. Another problem with an auto is that even if you get the thing hooked up, the torque converter might not be compatible with the characteristics of the little diesel.

As to gearing, it depends. Your '99 is heavier so that power is going to be stretched. That 2.2 started life at 60hp and 90ft#. 5.5psi of boost is about 1/3 of an atmosphere if you count added heat, so at best you are looked at a 20hp/30ft# increase. My VW TDI has 3x the boost and an intercooler and is factory rated at 90hp and 150ft#. That's if your pump is turned up. At best, I'd guess you are making 80hp 120ft#, which is a lot less than the 3.0 or 4.0 you plan to replace. I wouldn't decide anything until you tried it out, but I'd bet if you made a change it would be to a numerically higher ratio.

Your diesel is not going to need any of the engine harness. The engine and body have different harnesses, for the most part. Helminc.com has the diagrams.

If your diesel has a tach it's probably tied into the alternator. If not, you will probably be in the market for an aftermarket one. Autometer has Part# 2888 (I think that's right) which uses a magnet attached to the alternator with a big hose clamp. You don't need a tach though. Nothing used to have them because they were expensive and you didn't need it. Now that everything like that is cheap, everything has one. My wife's Honda Pilot has a tach. What the hell for? You put it in drive and it goes. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars programming the tranny so it shifts properly.

I don't know about the key.

frankly the absolute minimum I'd be able to deal with in a 4x4 ranger would be something like a 4bt Cummins and that only if it was "tweeked" to ~150hp


Adding a turbo to a diesel that doesn't already have one doesn't make any increase in power beyond burning the fuel that normally goes unburned out the tailpipe, UNLESS you know how to turn up the injection pump to deliver more fuel.

So basically adding 5lb to a perkins likely just makes it run cleaner,

the early ranger "perkins" diesel would not be my choice, nor would the later Mitsubishi turbo diesel.

Personally I think a diesel with either an overhead camshaft or an aluminum cylinder head is a method of planning for failure.

The only Jap mini diesel I liked (and in ther past I owned a toyota diesel, a Nissan diesel
and friends had a Mitsubishi (actually a D50) and an isuzu.

Of the four I thought the Nissan SD25 was the best of the bunch, as it was an all cast iron pushrod engine with GEAR DRIVEN camshaft and injector pump.

The Mitsubishi and Toyota were both belt driven (Cam and injector pump)
with aluminum cylinder heads.

The Isuzu if I recall correctly did have an aluminum head and overhead camshaft but was chain driven.

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