diesel ranger convertions?


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viperfangs2

15+ Year Member

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Sep 16, 2007
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Age
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1986
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diesel ranger

I want to convert my ranger to diesel or buy a diesel ranger.

I was wondering if i could reuse my 5 speed toyo koyo tranny and bolt it up to a diesel. Also what diesel motors can i drop in to a ranger? plus any other info would be awsome
 
you are looking at a lot of work. the trans you have will not be able to handle the torque of a diesel. you might look for a vw tdi or a cummins 4bt. but it appears the easiest swap would be a 6.2 chevy with a 700r4 or th400 and a newre ifs t case. also your d28 will explode under that much power.
 
Wow, what a kawinkidink, I was just thinking of my original plans of getting a small pickup with a diesel. My uncle had a late eighties S-10 with a diesel and it got awesome gas mileage. I am thinking of some sort of vegetable oil conversion. My question is: were any of the Rangers from 86-92 offered with a diesel engine option? If not, then I guess I'll have to figure something out.


XLTbeater
 
I have had the same thoughts lately. With gas prices soaring I have been looking for a diesel Ranger, but I have had no luck. I would like to start making biodiesel and running on that as I work at a restaurant and could get WVO from there. What kind of items would be needed for this kind of swap of turning a gas powered ranger into a diesel?
 
Most diesels will happily run on bio-diesel. I'm not sure about the technologically advanced european diesels, but american ones should be fine.

This does raise a valid question. Why does everyone go for the ubiquitous 4BT Cummins?
Why not an older Mercedes unit?
What about the 4 cylinder found in Hino cube trucks?
Anyone ever imported a diesel unit from a south-american Ranger?
 
the reason is the cummins is a popular engine that a lot of the parts for a swap can come from a 6bt found in the dodge rams. and the name says alot also
 
I've been thinking about the same thing actually. I haven't thought too far in terms of practical application and actually making it happen but I was thinking about using either a Cat or Cummins engine...

Very cool that I'm not the only one thinking this way.
 
I bought my cummins last fall.....it's still sitting in the garage and not under the hood mind you, but I'm collecting parts as I can afford them. All my cummins-ford bellhousing parts (clutch housing/flywheel/starter etc) are arriving next week, then I'll begin searching for a good ZF tranny to back up the 500ftlbs I'll be tuning out of my engine. Oh, and 25+ mpg is nothing to laugh at either.

-andrew
 
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Hey yeah i've been looking for a deisel swap aswell and Izuzu makes a good diesel, the 4BT is a really loud engine that vibrates alot, toyota also hase a few deisels in their hilux, hilux surf and land cruiser models, they range from 2.4L turbo up to a 4.2L turbo. cummins also has a 6AT wich is better as an on road application it runs smoother and quieter. Most of these engines other than the toyota bolt up to chevy transmissions like the T350. i think the easiest swap would be a whole new drive train, run 1/2 ton axles front and back due to the 300ft/lbs of torque that the deisels put out. Or find a wrecked toyota and swap engine tranny and t-case into a ranger
 
I had been thining of putting an Onan DJB/DJC in something as an attempt to make a super fuel efficent vehicle. I would choose an Onan because I am extremly familiar with this series. Challenges include finding a clutch, finding a trans, mounting, and dealing with timing advance.

I can get a DJC cheap right now, with a bad genset on it, but it needs a new inector pump...and I don't feel like shelling out the $1500+ for something that will just be something to tinker with. Clutch is easy enough, They had a hand clutch availiable for industrial use, and use some kind of belt drive to a trans. or I could try using a belt drive clutch, again, this would be for tinkering with and not to take any long trips with or to set any speed records.
 
I wouldn't spend a huge amount of effort on a waste cooking oil conversion. It's not diesel. I wouldn't put that through my injection pump. If you screw up your pump and injectors it will take a long time to get your money from that repair back. Making actual diesel fuel out of vegetable oil is a different thing. But I think Homeland Security will follow you home after you purchase the chemicals.

And with gas 80% the price of diesel. That goes a long way toward offsetting the worthhwile of a conversion. A 25mpg diesel costs the same to run as a 20mpg gasser.

This is the best diesel conversion.

My solution was a thousand-dollar 35mpg gas shitbox. I still have my trucks, but when I don't need a truck I can zoom around for cheap.
 
i think the best solution might be to buy a diesel toyota wether it b a land cruiser or a hilux
 
Nissan had a nice 6cyl inline diesel in the Maximas back in 82 or 83? The one I had ran great and would have gone forever but the body had serious issues. The 5 spd behind it was good, too, don't know if they ever offered it in a truck, or with 4x4 tho..
 

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