Diesel anyone?

[curtis73]

I would love to do a diesel swap in my 94 B4000... but not a boring Mitsu or Mazda diesel swap. Too small and not enough output.

My first thought was an OM617, but they are a full 11" longer than my V6. I don't think I can get the radiator far enough forward without mounting it in front of the grille. Not pretty.

OM642?
some 4-banger?
Not a 4BT. Not only are they expensive, but they rattle and shake like crazy.

Shooting for high 100s or low 200s stock HP that I can crank up to 250 or so and 350-ish stock torque that I can get to 375-400 with a little tuning. The goal is better MPG and a little more towing torque. Towing my boat in 3rd gear uphill at 50 mph with the stock wheezy 160hp isn't fun.

Truck is currently a 5-sp and 4x4 and it will stay that way, so transmission choices need to be considered as well. I don't mind adapting or doing a divorced xfer case, but the hope is to find something that doesn't require going nuts with fabrication. For instance; if I could find an engine and trans that will let me adapt to a xfer case, or if I found an engine that I could adapt to my trans/case would be ideal instead of adapting everything.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

You would be further ahead, honestly, with a hot gas 302.

 

[curtis73]

That would be going the opposite direction for my MPG goals. I currently get 18mpg. With a tuned diesel I could pretty easily get near 30mpg.

Plus I more or less hate gasoline engines.

 

[adsm08]

VW TDI swap is doable.

Bear in mind that the rules on emissions testing have changed, and even if you swap to a diesel engine you will still be subject to the same emissions testing that you are now with a gas engine. It no longer goes by the fuel type currently in use, but by what it was originally.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

If you do a 1.9tdi swap you can get a mechanical injection pump to eliminate the headache of the wiring and dash. A larger injector pump, turbo, injectors can be bought for under $2k. The adapter kit is roughly $1200. Then you just have to do the work.

 

[curtis73]

Actually, if you're willing to have a branded title, it gets retitled as a diesel and falls under the diesel emissions category for the year of the engine.

At least... according to the googles.

 

[curtis73]

A 1.9L TDI swap isn't going to be in the cards. I've built a few and they just aren't up to the task of anything over about 300 lb-ft. TDIs like to bend connecting rods at about 300 lb-ft, and getting them there is a very expensive venture.

I'm thinking somewhere in the 3.0L area.

 

[adsm08]

I'm thinking about a Predator swap. I saw a video where a guy did it to his 80s Ram 50 4x4.

 

[bobbywalter]

A 1.9L TDI swap isn't going to be in the cards. I've built a few and they just aren't up to the task of anything over about 300 lb-ft. TDIs like to bend connecting rods at about 300 lb-ft, and getting them there is a very expensive venture.

I'm thinking somewhere in the 3.0L area.

i strongly disagree.


there are several tdi swap threads here. if your not running a large 4x4 the tdi is the clear winner for rangers by a galaxy.


look up green geeker and the om swaps.


dont know what kind of tape measure you have, but a 617 is a cake swap. use a 3550 and 241 from a gm and get it on.

tdi is better for costs in total and ease of parts sourcing.

 

[curtis73]

I was actually using google for engine sizes. I've had a few 617s in my life and love them. Maybe I'm just not good at building TDIs

Thanks for the counterpoint.

 

[curtis73]

Ahh... I just figured out why I'm sounding like a crazy person. I was actually talking about the OM606 originally, but typed 617. The 606 is the long one that I determined won't fit.

 

[adsm08]

Ahh... I just figured out why I'm sounding like a crazy person. I was actually talking about the OM606 originally, but typed 617. The 606 is the long one that I determined won't fit.

Aren't numbers a bunch of little bastards? They always get me like that too.

 

[ExploreNW]

Sorry (not sorry) for the retro bump. I thought long and hard about the old mechanically controlled IDIs before I decided to screw with the gasser that's already in it.

The OM606 is too long to fit without some fab work on the front end but at 27" you could likely squeeze an OM605 in there. Problem - those were never sold in the US - but the previous generation 5 cyl, the OM602, was available here. Here's the rest of the Mercs you could make work:

OM601 [4 Cyl] 96HP turbo, 96 lb-ft
OM602 [5 Cyl] 90-130HP, torque not listed
OM604 [4 cyl DOHC] 75-95 HP, 100-111 lb-ft
OM605 [5 cyl DOHC] 111-150HP, 125-207 lb-ft

I live about 2.5 hours from Canada and can probably get any Euro/non-US spec motor there but I'm clear on the other side of the country so sourcing would be expensive. If you don't mind having a computer under the hood I suggest looking into the VM Motori turbo diesels sold by Fiat Chrysler in Jeeps in the mid-2000s. You could also pull an EcoDiesel from a wrecked Ram 1500 on the cheaps. The 2.8L i4 VM motor made 160HP and 295 lb-ft, well within your range. For any of these options you'll want to bring the transmission with you too.

If you did decide to go forward with this swap, I wish you luck!

 

[bobbywalter]

so your saying a 606 wont fit in a ranger?


i looked at a 603/606 hybrid in a wrangler a few summers back that had my attention...


they are selling cheap right now....so now is the time...seen several in the 800-1800 range on the ebay.


they are long but not longer then my current powerplant...........fitment issues are more height...they are too tall more-so as any issues go.

 

[ExploreNW]

Anything will fit with enough time, money, and sawzall blades... My point is easiness. You could theoretically weld a Cat 3508 diesel in the bed of a Ranger with all the turbos and smokestacks you want if you're either a balls to the wall fab shop or loaded rich. I think for me it'd be a PITA to get a 606 in there without the whole front clip pulled because it's longer than OP's engine bay. I guess you could lift it into place from under the truck, or drop the body down over it. You can get a couple small Honda radiators and a nice big German oil cooler mounted in front of the frame to keep that diesel cool. Saw this setup on a Ranger with a gas 300-6 out of an F250.... Hmm, now that's a tempting one for me to do....

For an "easy" or at least less effort/cost swap, smaller motors like the 4 & 5 cyls are the way to go. He'll also want to convert to an 8.8 or 9" rear end to take the 606 torque but he could get away with the stock rear on a smaller engine.