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97 Ranger tdi swap


Exenos

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I have a 97 Ranger diesel swap I've been slowly working on for few years. I'm finally starting to run into some ranger specific problems so I figured I should actually get around to starting a thread here. Not too many pictures because I'm terrible for remembering them sorry.










Pictures are not quite up to date, Probably a few weeks behind.
I used a nv3500 from an s10 just because I could actually find the drawing for the bell housing. Once its actually running it will be getting a small lift and 265 75r15s along with compounding it with a td04-15 I have. And a 3 1/2" exhaust from a duramax :icon_thumby:


Now for the real question I have. I'm getting no power to the starter solenoid when the key is turned. Obviously clutch needs to be pressed but does the ecu have anything to do with the neutral safety switch? Is there anything I need to bypass?
 
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RonD

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In 1997 Ranger there is a Starter Interrupt Relay and a starter relay.

If you have keyless entry/alarm this Starter Interrupt Relay is Grounded by RAP module.

Power path with key in START position

Battery-------50amp fuse1------ignition switch------fuse 24(in cab, 10amp)-------Starter Interrupt Relay----------------Neutral switch-------------starter relay----------starter motor

Diagram below
 

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Exenos

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Perfect, Thank you. Thats exactly what I was trying to find.
 

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Nice project! Is that an AHU/1Z with an ALH turbo/intake on it? You definitely want to remove the EGR cooler and EGR valve regardless. It doesn't look like you have much room for the VNT actuator canister. If you intend on compound turbo charging this motor anyway, I strongly recommend against a VNT HP turbo. I would run a mk3 tdi exhaust manifold and a GT2052 turbo with an adatper plate made by a friend of mine. The gt2052 is basically one step up from a stock tdi turbo and still spools very well and is better matched in a set of compounds than a stock tdi turbo. I used a stock mk3 tdi K03 as my HP in my tdi ranger and it's honestly a bit too small, my external wastegate has to be open at cruising or else the HP is wanting to make too much boost. This is a direct indication the turbine side is too small.

Give me a shout if you have any tdi related questions, I've worked with them in the performance/modification side for about 10 years now. I have some tdi stuff on my website, but there's tons of things I can get/have that aren't on there.
 
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Exenos

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Thanks Whitbread! Yup that’s an ahu with a vnt15 and alh intake. Needed to reverse the intake direction and I had them lying around from a parts car. I need to keep the egr intact until I pass my first smog test but I will definitely be removing it afterwards. There are a few things I'll be redoing after smog and all that is dealt with.

You are right with the VNT actuator, I have no room at all for it. I'll be locking the vanes mostly open for the first bit. Probably try the td04 as a single after I ditch the egr, If I find the lag too much then I'll move onto compounds. I've had far too many ideas for turbos since I’ve started this. It was going to be stock initially then I wanted a 2052 like you’ve suggested then I was given the td04 so that opend up a whole can of worms there. Thought about the td04 with a hx35 on top for a while but decided that would get expensive far too fast. Still haven’t decided really but the only thing that hasn’t changed is that I want 220+hp at the crank. That kinda limits me to big singles or compounds.
 

Exenos

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Nothing much has happened, I got busy with school and extended -15 weather didn't help with the motivation.

But I did pull the engine out for the last time im hoping to massage the firewall a bit more and while it was out I decided to change turbos. Kinda silly really but it was just one of those things. Tried my hand at gas welding the adapter because I didn't feel like welding exhaust with a stick welder. Didn't turn out too bad but I definitely learned the importance of proper joint fitment. Bit more effort to fill the gaps.



Going to try to have it running in the truck this weekend. Just need to make an engine ground cable and fill up the tank fully with diesel. Probably going to run into stuff that wont let me start it though.
 

Exenos

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Solved the no power to the starter relay problem. it seems that the pink wire from the clutch switch and the red/blue from the solenoid joined somewhere in the engine harness. Since that’s not there anymore I just needed to join the two and I’ve got power going to the solenoid now. But the solenoid clicks now but doesn’t switch power so I need to get a new one. Worked perfectly fine 2 years ago...

Also got it running in the truck with the trucks fuel system. Key off kills the motor but I needed to jump the starter because of the bad solenoid.

This is where its at right now. I could throw the transfer case and drive shaft in and go for a short drive but I'm going to save that for when i lose motivation again. Lots of little stuff to be done first. I'll see about uploading the video of it running.




Got it. Gave my brother the honours of starting it cause I wanted to play with the throttle :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glomf3QlVDA&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glomf3QlVDA&
 
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Exenos

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Put a new solenoid in it today and it starts with the key now. Whoo!
 

Exenos

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So I connected the tach signal from the vw ecu straight to the cluster and it seems to read low but not so low that it couldn’t be correct. At idle the tach reads about 700rpm, should be closer to 900. Do the v6 tachs need 3 pulses per rev? I thought the 97+ clusters just took a universal tach signal.
 

RonD

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Tachometer is universal in a sense, but you need to define 1 revolution.
Is it 1 pulse, 2 pulses, 3 pulses, 4 pulses, ect.....

This was done in the tachometer for many years when it was hooked to ignition coil, 4cyl, 6cyl, 8cyl select to define pulses per 1 revolution

With computer ignition it could be done in the computer and a "standard tach" could be used in the dash, but that was a ways down the road for the Ranger, I think 2004 Ranger got the first full digital dash

Dakota Digital sells a Tach interface, $85, but like you said its close now, so..........

Good work on getting it running :icon_thumby:
 
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Exenos

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Thanks Ron. I did a bit more digging and found instructions to re calibrate the stock tach for a 4 cyl. That should do it.
 

Exenos

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This is the current state of the engine bay.





Turbo is fully mounted and plumbed, drive train is in and ready to go. Serpentine belt is done and coolant is done. Would have been driving over a month ago but I accidentally fried the ecu when reading the chips. Really don't know how because I've done it quite a few times before with no issues. I ended up using a newer ecu and harness what lets me port flash it instead of chips. Had to send it out to get the immobilizer deleted though. Should be back next week then I can take it for a test drive.



I can get all my gauges to work except for the coolant temp. Does anyone know what the temp sensor wire is? I thought it was the red with white stripe but I'm getting nothing from the gauge.
 

RonD

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Yes, thats the color red/white stripe, gauge should go to HOT if you ground that wire with key ON, or maybe its the opposite, lol :)
 

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This is exactly what I was looking for! I want to pick up an 80s ranger and do the same thing when I get back stateside.
 

rangerscout

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Well I guess it would be a bad time to tell you that you could have gotten a straight adapter to ykur factory ranger trabs from gatodiesel. Lol.
They also have some parts that will intergrate you vw nicely to the ranger, they are who I am going with for my tdi swap.
Following this thread closely though.
 

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