Whitbread
Member
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2017
- Messages
- 84
- Reaction score
- 23
- Points
- 8
- Location
- Gaylord, MI
- Vehicle Year
- 2000
- Make / Model
- Mazda
- Engine Size
- 2.0L
- Transmission
- Manual
Howdy folks! I needed a 4wd replacement for my mechanical tdi swapped VW Rabbit pickup, so after some hunting I found a 2000 Black B3000 5 spd 4x4 down in San Antonio TX for a good deal. Got lucky that I had a friend down there for work and he was able to pick the truck up on Thursday and drive it back to Louisville KY. I drove down over the weekend and brought it back to my mad scientist lab in the woods of northern MI. Turns out, the 3.0 has a blown head gasket as it took 3 gallons of coolant to get from KY to MI. No idea how it made it from TX to KY being 2 gallons low and didn't blow up . Oh well, I didn't buy it for the turd v6 anyway. But due to that, my time table is getting moved up and this thing is getting swapped ASAP as I'm not going to do a head gasket on the 3.slow.
About 4 weeks ago I yanked a fully dressed 2004 Passat TDI engine/harness/ecu from a u-pull yard in the ghetto of detroit for $412.50. Sold the trans computer and intercooler off for $425, so the motor didn't cost me a dime. It needs a cam as 04-06 TDI's do, but I'm a dealer for Colt Cams so that's an easy fix. I'll also delete the balance shaft and put a fresh timing belt on it. I'm hoping all the vw accessories will clear and save any custom belt/pulley work. It's going to get a small set of K03/hx30w compounds which should be good for 180whp/350wtq with the stock injectors. When I upgrade them down the road, 220whp/425wtq should be doable from the same turbos.
Put the truck to work today and went out and cleaned up a few dead limbs that came down in the wind storm last week. It's already sagging 1.5" with just this load so I ordered the airlift helper bag kit, firestone pump, and assorted fittings to hook it all up. I have a 20ft aluminum car hauler I plan on towing with VW's on it and I know that will squat it more than this.
After unloading the bed, I put it on the hoist to get a look at the underside. My god . I'm so jealous of all you guys down south/out west. I can't believe this is a 17 year old truck with 216K on it. Looks like a 2 year/20k old truck from up here. This will get the most overkill undercoating job ever done when I get done with the swap and will be washed inside every time it has to see salt.
Worst rust I can find on this thing
From my googling, this is a very common issue and I hopped on ebay and ordered the aluminum repair ends and a new pair of Depo door handles as they were only $12/each. Any specific tips for doing the job(other than don't break the door card)?
What's the best course of action here? Can a new seat bottom be bought anywhere for a reasonable price? I have to imagine any seat from a junkyard isn't going to be much better.
I tried 4wd today and the electric motor takes 3-10 minutes to shift in/out. My tailhousing does have the 2 holes for the mechanical linkage, so which exact vehicle do I need to yank a manual 1354 from? Same vehicle for the shit boot/trim? I found the Rugged Ridge manual hubs as well, they are also on order.
Thanks for the help guys and I'm looking forward to this project! I know vw tdi's better than the back of my hand, but have never touched a ranger until now.
About 4 weeks ago I yanked a fully dressed 2004 Passat TDI engine/harness/ecu from a u-pull yard in the ghetto of detroit for $412.50. Sold the trans computer and intercooler off for $425, so the motor didn't cost me a dime. It needs a cam as 04-06 TDI's do, but I'm a dealer for Colt Cams so that's an easy fix. I'll also delete the balance shaft and put a fresh timing belt on it. I'm hoping all the vw accessories will clear and save any custom belt/pulley work. It's going to get a small set of K03/hx30w compounds which should be good for 180whp/350wtq with the stock injectors. When I upgrade them down the road, 220whp/425wtq should be doable from the same turbos.
Put the truck to work today and went out and cleaned up a few dead limbs that came down in the wind storm last week. It's already sagging 1.5" with just this load so I ordered the airlift helper bag kit, firestone pump, and assorted fittings to hook it all up. I have a 20ft aluminum car hauler I plan on towing with VW's on it and I know that will squat it more than this.
After unloading the bed, I put it on the hoist to get a look at the underside. My god . I'm so jealous of all you guys down south/out west. I can't believe this is a 17 year old truck with 216K on it. Looks like a 2 year/20k old truck from up here. This will get the most overkill undercoating job ever done when I get done with the swap and will be washed inside every time it has to see salt.
Worst rust I can find on this thing
From my googling, this is a very common issue and I hopped on ebay and ordered the aluminum repair ends and a new pair of Depo door handles as they were only $12/each. Any specific tips for doing the job(other than don't break the door card)?
What's the best course of action here? Can a new seat bottom be bought anywhere for a reasonable price? I have to imagine any seat from a junkyard isn't going to be much better.
I tried 4wd today and the electric motor takes 3-10 minutes to shift in/out. My tailhousing does have the 2 holes for the mechanical linkage, so which exact vehicle do I need to yank a manual 1354 from? Same vehicle for the shit boot/trim? I found the Rugged Ridge manual hubs as well, they are also on order.
Thanks for the help guys and I'm looking forward to this project! I know vw tdi's better than the back of my hand, but have never touched a ranger until now.