Good deal on a diesel?

JakePSD · Jan 9, 2011

I found a diesel ranger for sale. It has the 2.3 turbo, 2wd, 5 speed manual. He is askin a little over 2k for it. The bed is a little rough but the cab is pretty decent. Dash is kinda rough too. He says he went through the engine and put all new gaskets and seals in it, put new injectors in, and recalibrated the pump. If i can get him down to about 1500 would it be a good deal?

HiddenParkRanger · Jan 9, 2011

I would say if you could get him down to 1500 that it would be a good deal. those diesel rangers are pretty rare and get great fuel mileage. Plus LMC Truck can help ya get all the parts to fix it up.

superds · Jan 9, 2011

$1500 wouldn't be too bad of a deal. For me to spend $2000 on something like that it would have to be 4x4 and the body would have to be nearly pristine, at the very least, no dents or rust.

What year is it?

JakePSD · Jan 9, 2011

It is an '87. What i was thinking about doing is swapping the motor, trans, and anything else out of that truck to make mine better out of that truck into the one i already have, and swapping my 2.3 gas motor and trans into that one and selling that one. Mine the body is in very good condition, especially for the year, and i much prefer the front end and interior style of my '89. Plus I'm kinda attached to the one i have now haha. I've already customized it quite a bit.

How much stuff is interchangeable between 87 and 89? I would imagine dang near everything on the trucks is pretty much interchangeable right?

superds · Jan 9, 2011

There's quite a bit that's not interchangeable. The front clip of the bodies are obviously different and so is the dash/interior. These things are not the same but with some work would could be made to be used on the other vehicle. Things like the basic components of the vehicle would interchange, such as the frame, axles, suspension, etc. with almost no work. What more specifically are you wondering about changing over?

85_Ranger4x4 · Jan 9, 2011

superds said:
There's quite a bit that's not interchangeable. The front clip of the bodies are obviously different and so is the dash/interior. These things are not the same but with some work would could be made to be used on the other vehicle. Things like the basic components of the vehicle would interchange, such as the frame, axles, suspension, etc. with almost no work. What more specifically are you wondering about changing over?

The front clip as an assembly is interchangable.

I think he is wanting to trade powerplants with his truck, and turn around and resell it.

Make sure he has receipts or something to go with his supposed work on the engine. If it is junk the whole thing is a waste of money.

JakePSD · Jan 9, 2011

He said he will get receipts. He says he works at a diesel shop and ordered the parts though them so he doesn't have them, but he can get them. I had considered swapping the entire front clips, and dashes, but i think it would be easier and i would actually prefer to just swap drivetrains. I would also swap over the rear leafs, mine are a bit worn.

How hard would the drivetrain swap be? Mine is a base, so there is no A/C or powersteering to worry about. The diesel one has both A/C and PS. How much wiring and computer controls are on the diesel driveline?

JakePSD · Jan 9, 2011

And if i do this, how does the diesel's tach signal work? My 89 does not have a factory tach in the dash, but i have a sunpro one mounted on the dash. Can i make that one work?

gwaii · Jan 9, 2011

drivetrain's all a bolt in.the only significant wiring on the 2.3td is the glow plug wiring.it has a big resistor and a timing unit that are pretty simple.the tach drives off a toothed wheel in the injector pump.i'm not sure if it's compatible with aftermarket units.

JakePSD · Jan 9, 2011

As far as glow plug wiring i'd probably just run a relay and a switch in the cab and run them manually.

So the tach is all mechanical on the diesel? I'm sure i can find a mechanical tach somewhere.

And with putting the gasser in the 87's chassis, would everything, including the computer, bolt in all the same places it did on the 89?

Seems like putting the diesel engine and trans in my 89 would be quite simple. How about putting that gasser in the 87?

gwaii · Jan 10, 2011

the tach is electronic....the cogged wheel i was referring to is like an abs wheel,induces a pulsed current for the tach to read.

bolting the gasser into the 87 should be plug-in,but with a few mods.

i'd strongly suggest running the glowplug system that's with the engine.
when mine had a problem before i went to a manual system instead of fixing it.burned out the glow plugs and then the starter trying to get it going without the plugs.got pretty expensive.

the glowplug system is actually pretty simple to wire up-especially if you have it all in the donor truck.but it's a dual-voltage system and will burn out the plugs quickly if 12 volts is sent to them all the time.

JakePSD · Jan 10, 2011

I wonder if that would work for the tach then? I would think thats how they work on a gasser, just a pulse every crank rotation. Not really sure but it would make sense. I'll have to do some more research on that one.

What are the few mods id have to do with the gasser? Just a simple version for now.

I can run the factory glow plug stuff if its that important.

gwaii · Jan 10, 2011

the tach may work....i've just never tried it.i can't see ford making a specific tach just for a low production unit like the diesel,i would think they'd calibrate the sender to regular production tachs.

the differences for the gasser in the 87 are some changes to how the underhood wiring is arranged.the ecm is in the same location,but the way it ties into the firewall plug changed a bit from gen1 to gen2.nothing insurmountable,though.

JakePSD · Jan 10, 2011

Something a saw zaw would fix? lol Or would it be a little more involved? Duct tape possibly?

I forgot to mention too that the truck comes with a new bed that is in really good shape. Wrong color but nothin a rattle can wont fix.

So far what do y'all think would be a good price for this truck? I can upload some pics if it would help.

gwaii · Jan 10, 2011

hard to pin down a value on these trucks,as they are rare enough that there's not too much to compare to.you didn't mention how many miles are on it,and while a well maintained diesel will last a very long time,the rest of the drivetrain is the same as you'll find in a similar year gas truck.as for the maintenance on the engine-while it's no guarantee,i've found that the general cleanliness of the engine bay can be a good indicator of the level of maintenance it's recieved.

in short,i'd say $1500 for a good running 4x4 td ranger is a good deal.

Good deal on a diesel?

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