1995 Ranger/B4000 TDI Swap

Things started out for me before I owned my Ranger. I followed BleepinJeep on youtube and Nate on that channel has a PD TDI in his Jeep Wrangler TJ. He has a series of videos that go into details on TDI swaps both specifically about Jeeps and also in general. Nate left and made his own channel, doing the same great content. Jon from BleepinJeep also started a build series of his 2001 Jeep Cherokee, and it has been the biggest inspiration for me to do my own swap.

I then bought my third Ford Ranger. (I know it looks like a B4000, but it is technically a Ranger. It had a body swap when the original rusted out. I'll be calling it a Ranger from now on.)

[/url]1F55D1E6-26BF-4169-A466-BCA3B8C11F15 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr[/IMG]

Having read Greengeeker's and Honeybadger's TDI Ranger builds about a year and a half ago, I decided to build my own Ranger, and the opportunity came not long after I bought my 1995 Ranger. I bought the truck in early 2019 and when summer came I found that there were a few things that the previous owner had let go and this resulted in it pinging for a long period of time. I won't go into details since none of you TDI folks really care about a Ford gasser.

I got to thinking about it and although there are a decent amount of Jeep TDI swap videos, there aren't really any of a Ranger TDI swap except for a couple short videos by Greengeeker on youtube. So I decided to add my swap to my youtube channel to help others in the TDI and Ford communities with some good quality info and video. If nothing else, just for entertainment.

I was planning to start my thread on here when I was done with the swap, but at the suggestion of Honeybadger, I decided to start my thread now.

Well anyway, I found a heck of a deal on a fully dressed 1999 Beetle ALH TDI that included the wiring harness, ECU, throttle pedal, and the engine stand it was on. The country feller I bought it from daily drove the Beetle and took everything out in order to put it in a Samurai he had. I guess things fell through when he had to sell the Samurai for some reason I don't recall, and he had to get rid of the TDI he had already pulled.

I started pulling the 4.0 V6 out of the Ranger in early April of this year with the help of a good friend. We removed the engine, trans, transfer case, and driveshafts removed in 4 hours flat. I was glad to have that part out of the way quickly so I could get started on the swap quicker.

[/url]1E7295D9-1AC9-4D4F-93BB-ACD6F0DF29F3 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]462FF623-C39B-448B-9E38-5C7631A87BA0 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr[/IMG]

Since I had been gathering parts for about 6 months and had been preparing for this, I wasted no time starting the swap process. I also miss the truck already. I got the engine up to the barn from my garage and started tearing things off I knew I didn't need.

[/url]Untitled by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr[/IMG]

Anyone who is considering a swap like this, study as many swaps into a vehicle like yours like I did with Greengeeker's and Honeybadger's swaps, but also study other types of swaps because you'll learn extra things you may not get from other build threads.

I'll cut this first post here and continue it in another page. Also, being new to the forums, I'm not sure how to make pictures work on a post, so any pointers would be welcome. For now, you all will have to click the links to the pictures of the swap.

Awesome! You started a thread!

I DM'd you about how to post the pictures from Flckr, hopefully that works for you.

Continuing our conversation about firewalls from my thread since you're looking at mounting your ECU. I wonder if you have one of the last 94s that was sold as a 95. I was at pick-n-pull yesterday looking for parts and there was a 94 and 95 ranger that I looked at.

The 94 had the ECU next to the clutch and the bulk head connector was round.
The 95 had the ECU above the cabin air box and had 3 square bulk head connectors.

Does your truck have OBD 1 or 2?

In '95, the Ranger (and its Mazda B-truck clone) got a new dashboard, that coincided with a handful of other changes to the firewall and HVAC. '94 is actually a weird year, since it was first for R134a and SRS, but last for the old dash. So there are a few unique pieces on it. They also got "partial" OBD2 compliance... that was a transitional period for a lot of manufacturers, as they knew what they had to do for the 1996 mandates, and if things were being updated or changed in '95, or a new model was being offered for the '95 model year, chances are they integrated much of the '96 stuff ahead of time. Volkswagen did, too. The '95 Golfs and Jettas had an OBD2 type DLC in the dash, even though they were not fully OBD2 compliance (no readiness monitors, no evap system checking, no post-catalyst oxygen sensor, etc.).

With Ford, it was the transition from EECIV to EECV (Electronic Engine Control version 4, to version 5... 5 being OBD2, but Ford's EECV was really just EECIV with a few minimal must-haves layered over the top). Which was always fun regarding diagnostics, as the Hickock test tool (we still have ours, and it still works great) allowed the OBD2 stuff essentially two entirely separate test modes. The "new" style, retrieving the Pxxx DTCs as with all OBD2 vehicles, and the "KOER/KOEO" test modes with the XX DTCs same as before. Always a fun method to try and figure things out.

Of course, none of this matters if you are placing a much newer VAG engine under the hood.

HoneyBadger said:

Continuing our conversation about firewalls from my thread since you're looking at mounting your ECU. I wonder if you have one of the last 94s that was sold as a 95. I was at pick-n-pull yesterday looking for parts and there was a 94 and 95 ranger that I looked at.

The 94 had the ECU next to the clutch and the bulk head connector was round.
The 95 had the ECU above the cabin air box and had 3 square bulk head connectors.

Does your truck have OBD 1 or 2?

Click to expand...

I have OBD 1. The bulkhead connector is round. I would remove the stock Ranger ECU except for my worries that some things may still be controlled through it that I would like to keep. I have a standalone wiring harness from Fast Forward Automotive, but I'm not sure what the truck may need in order to "think."

[/url]8B1EB574-5A70-401A-BC7D-E03415E23B64 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr[/IMG]

Regarding what you said, Oilhammer, I may very well have a 1994 B4000 cab, being that it's a body swapped Ranger. But like you said, it doesn't super matter since I am putting a VW engine and ECU in it.

It's funny how much gets changed each year during each generation for vehicles. When I was researching wiring and getting my tach to read properly, going from reading 6 cyl. to 4cyl, I found that 93-94 did it one way, 95 another, and 96-97 a different way from the other two. My truck was OBD2 compliant enough for smog, and gave Pxxxx codes, but sounds like just barely. Which follows what oilhammer was saying. I guess our trucks aren't quite as similar as we thought. But where would the fun be if they were exactly the same, huh?

You probably don't need the ECU, but you'll want to check. I believe the 93-97 all had GEM (general electronic management) units. This is a box under the dash that controls all the stuff on the body that isn't the engine or transmission. Basically, warning chimes, 4x4 control, cabin lights all that stuff. If you have one of those, then you should be fine to remove the ECU since it should only have controlled the engine.

Hopefully some of that is helpful.

HoneyBadger said:

You probably don't need the ECU, but you'll want to check. I believe the 93-97 all had GEM (general electronic management) units. This is a box under the dash that controls all the stuff on the body that isn't the engine or transmission. Basically, warning chimes, 4x4 control, cabin lights all that stuff. If you have one of those, then you should be fine to remove the ECU since it should only have controlled the engine.

Hopefully some of that is helpful.

Click to expand...

Very helpful, yes. I believe I do have generic ECU’s for all those things. I know for a fact I have a separate 4x4 ECU. Maybe I’ll unplug the PCM and see if the interior stuff works and the 4x4. If it does, then eh, I’ll just remove it. Other than it looking a little more messy, I don’t mind it being there. I think my plan is to make an aluminum box for the VW ECU right behind the stock fuse/relay box in the engine bay. I’ll utilize the stock VW mount and integrate it into the aluminum box.

Anybody know if the VW ECU is sealed enough to get wet without it being hurt? I know it’s right under dash in a Beetle. Not particularly in amongst the elements.

I immediately jumped into mocking the engine up in the engine bay, seeing what would fit and what would need to be fiddled with.

[/url]BC6CF2A5-9375-49C3-8B2F-3F65D900CE12 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr[/IMG]

D8828D43-90B6-4AD3-BD91-48236E9A521D by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Thankfully, Honeybadger has done a lot of figuring out for this gen of Ranger already. I knew I needed to remove the a/c compressor and cut the portion of the bracket off that holds the a/c compressor and alternator. This is needed in order to clear the steering box on the Ranger. This is different from the 1998-2012 Ranger because that year of Ranger has a steering rack and it's a whole other can of worms. A lot of what I have to say about initial fitment of the engine is repeating of what Honeybadger has done in his build swap. If you haven't already, you should read it. https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=455909
If you have read it, plan to probably read it again because the 1990-1997 year-span of Ranger has some sticky spots. I didn't find it to be horribly hard in retrospect, but it will really help you out if you learn a few pointers. Also, read Greengeeker's forum. It has a lot of technical info that is very helpful, even though his Ranger is a 2001 and is not 4x4.

Initially, your biggest fight will be for clearance between the turbo actuator valve and your engine mount, and between your alternator and steering box.

The clearance between the turbo actuator valve and engine mount, in my case, was determined by how low you make the engine sit, how far back you put the engine in the truck, and the clocking of the engine in relation to the trans.
[/url]5E9DCF70-1151-4A0B-8B31-606CD5E8F9F2 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr[/IMG]

This picture was taken in initial mock-up of the engine so it may be sitting slightly different now, but if it is it's a minute difference. I ended up with about a fingertip's (about 1/2" in my case) worth of space between the actuator valve and the engine mount. It could probably be closer and it really wouldn't hit anything, but I wanted plenty of space to have access to the engine mount nut. It is easy to access the nut and I wouldn't change anything on that side of the engine.

I don't have a picture of the steering box and alternator clearance which is strange since it's a big part of the mock-up process. I'll have to snap one and edit it in later. Basically, the front lower edge of your alternator is going to be close to the top/side of your steering box. Clearance here will also be determined by the same factors that the turbo actuator valve clearance had. Clocking, how far fore and aft, and how low or high the engine is in the engine bay. In retrospect, my engine ended up needing to be tilted downward in the rear more than I expected, so I could have gotten away with the clearances being tighter. Again, I will add a picture.

Forewarning, if you follow the height/clocking setup I have, you will either need a body lift or a clearance hole in the hood in order to close the hood. Another option is to look for a cowl hood. That may clear. With the stock hood, the intake is just a little too tall. I don't like body lifts and I already have a pretty tall truck, so I have chosen to cut a hole in the hood. I will make sure it doesn't look janky, but it's not a sleeper nor is it a show truck.

I am running the EDGE hood and grill and just barely cleared the PD150 intake. I have a coil spring truck.

The Ranger station is also a good place for information and wiring help.
Here is my 05 build and it was the first TDI swap that I had running. https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/index.php?threads/05-ranger-tdi-conversion.161412/

Nozzleman said:

I am running the EDGE hood and grill and just barely cleared the PD150 intake. I have a coil spring truck.

Click to expand...

I’ll have to look into getting one of those. I would have to change out the fenders, grill, and hood because yay B series body.

evguy1 said:

The Ranger station is also a good place for information and wiring help.
Here is my 05 build and it was the first TDI swap that I had running. https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/index.php?threads/05-ranger-tdi-conversion.161412/

Click to expand...

I’ll have to check out your build. Although our two generations share actually very little in common in the finer details. I do like a good TDI swap.

I plan to post my thread on TRS as well, since I have an account there, but I just haven’t yet. I probably will post it once I have it all posted here on TDI forum.

Alright, new post finally! Craziness. I have been working on the truck this entire time actually. I'm very close to finishing it this month, but I've been lagging on posting about the progress.

Before I jump into the progress, I figure I'll show some of the problem clearance areas like I mentioned I would do in previous posts.

Alternator to steering box clearance
63358E1A-21C5-4940-B864-2B642885360A by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Oil pan to crossmember clearance.
1B185192-3A93-4245-9916-2CC72FB7DEE3 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Anyone who does this swap will either have to get creative with the oil drain bolt, making an access hole in the cross member (which would be very difficult), or use an oil extraction pump similar to what you'd use to change the oil in an inboard boat motor.

So next thing on the engine mock-up is to make the engine mounts now that I've decided where I want the engine.

My crude Cardboard Aided Design. My swap is proof that you can do things with pretty crude methods, but still get some good results. The first picture is the beginnings of the driver's side mount
872192F9-99DA-4836-977D-28384E4E876E by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Manually bent the engine mount plate to match the the contour of the engine block. I heated this 3/16" steel up with a MAP gas torch, put it in a vise, and beat it to shape with a sledge hammer. Key is to work slowly and test fit it often.
A60DC3D8-9463-4DB8-B593-B060973DF2A8 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Mount tacked together. Next is to add some strength gusseting and paint it.
2643BA2C-4522-488E-98BD-CE92C3F83F3F by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Yes it's yellow. XD
9435C1F0-28ED-4096-B9B4-33CA948081C3 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Passenger side is much easier to design and build. More crude CAD.
0650FAEF-4631-41E3-ACA1-A29FBD69CC19 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Passenger side mount tacked together and ready for gusseting and finish welding.
33D316C8-5BAD-435A-AE87-9E4DEA2AEE44 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

All finished with mounts. The strength gusseting on this mount is harder to see in this picture, but it's there. If there's interest in how I did it I'll draw up a picture of how I did it.
AB8AD5CC-9265-4ED9-9EE4-5F28332D2AE4 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr
I'll split up these posts into a few sections so I don't make the post too.

Next is to remove the newly mounted engine from the truck to replace the rear main seal and mount the trans the adapter plate I got from TDconversions.

AC509110-D62E-4E13-8F6F-75ABA59B64EB by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

I definitely recommend dropping the money on exhaust wrap since the exhaust outlet is legitimately RIGHT by the starter. This was never a problem for the stock VW since the starter mounts from the opposite side of the transmission.
6CE935FB-C783-4227-9F4F-1884A951B960 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Also shown in the above picture is the aftermarket turbo oil feed line you will need if you're swapping into a Ranger with the stock HVAC plenum still in place. Feel free to make a custom hard line and route it the way you wish, but I wanted to go the easier route. Also, braided steel lines are pretty.

While I have the engine out I want to modify the fuel lines. Thankfully, my generation of Ranger has both supply and return lines which is perfect for the diesel. The spot where I modified the stock Ranger fuel lines is where it transfers from hard line to braided steel right beside steering shaft on the driver's side frame rail.
29AEFD0D-D14C-4995-83F5-39E91123F07A by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

The OD of the fuel lines shown above is 1/4" but it necks down to a smaller diameter. I slid the rubber fuel line further down and clamped it down with a simple hose clamp. The highest pressure these unions will ever see is about 4-10 PSI, so no worries of leakage without much of a nipple on the end of the hard line.

I took a dremel and cut the crimped on braided steel section. Very quick, very easy. Zipped a cut in it and pried it apart with a screwdriver. Here is the aftermath of the.
BE538242-A776-46C4-8A5E-1C4E0B60695A by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

On to the fuel tank pickup. The in-tank pump needs to be removed completely because it can't handle the viscosity of diesel for a long period of time. Here is the stock pickup.
7E0D69B2-39DC-4912-B37F-BC58125E7278 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

There is good news for those of you that have this generation of Ranger. I removed the fuel pump so I'm left with a pickup line that is way too high up. All you need to do is get fuel rated hose (just like what the stock Ranger had connecting the fuel pump to the pickup line) and run it down to the level that the OEM pickup sock was. Now, if you just leave it at that, your rubber fuel line will curl eventually, as Jon from the YouTube channel BleepinJeep found out on his Cherokee build. I decided to take his original idea and try my own spin on it. I simply clamped the pickup hose to the return line next to it. If you do that, the hose will not be able to curl.
8B484C0A-0D54-488E-9078-172F72C5A839 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

The only other thing I did with the fuel system at this point is to remove the stock frame-mounted fuel filter since I will be installing an in line fuel filter/water separator from Nicktane. I have not yet installed a frame-mounted lift pump yet, but I have left provisions for it since I think eventually it would be nice for priming the high pressure pump.

Alright! Intercooler plumbing time!
I have a friend who had a dual intercooler setup leftover from his killer Audi A4 build. He went with something bigger, but this setup will be plenty for my diesel.
It also already has a spot for a VW MAP sensor.
D0390BE7-E089-4CDD-AC6D-398F1F63B118 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

I immediately noticed this spot on the Ranger radiator core support and thought it would be perfect. Knowing what I know now, IT IS A PAIN. So hard to plumb, but it worked out in the end, so eh.
84E0BD75-C6F2-44D1-B44B-2AB567CB7BFC by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Just need to remove and cut away a couple things to clearance for the intercoolers.
239203BC-18D1-4BAB-8F97-0291494A757D by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

3C11AE8A-49D7-4903-902A-7676C4036944 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

The intercoolers mocked up in their new home. They're crooked, but it's where they need to land. Might not be as aesthetically pleasing or sleeper as a lot of setups, but it's grown on me.
D9022E6A-FC15-459E-88B8-A1380908101F by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Part of the fiberglass fascia was clearanced to allow the coupler to pass through. Also shown are what my mounts will look like. Again, my swap is not the prettiest.
C31295EA-E570-450B-BE61-88C029F45FCB by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Part 2 to come immediately after.

The hose routing from below the front bumper area under the intercoolers.

E93715DF-21BC-4D33-9256-E393A1FA3182 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

EE97ECF4-9315-4BC7-938C-3FC6A7459371 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

The charge piping going from the turbo to the intercoolers and from the intercoolers to the intake.
E3AA6ADA-DEE7-42CE-8B96-3EA254450C48 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Another angle of the charge piping. My goal has been to use as much of the stock VW and Audi charge piping in my swap as possible.
978FDADC-B96B-433C-931F-018DFB271390 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Now it's time to make some couplers because those things cost wayyyy too much a piece. I decided to buy a 12" aluminum pipe and fabricate my own couplers after Honeybadger showed me a video he found of how to easily beadroll/flare your own couplers/hose nipples. Here are a few photos of the process.
35A7224A-6808-46A7-803F-39255E3ED6A8 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr


5FBF36DB-999B-460B-B1C5-9378A3FFC88C by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr


52FCF0F0-F6A6-438A-A586-97863F144DD2 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Works like a charm. Saved me about $45 in pre-made couplers. By the way, all of my couplers and charge piping is bought from siliconeintakes.com. The website was recommended to me by Jon from BleepinJeep youtube channel, since that is what he used on his Cherokee TDI swap. I definitely like the quality of their products.

Looking good. Make sure there is no red paint between the starter and the adapter. On some adapters I masked off where the starter goes and on some I forgot. It wont ground properly if its painted. I also love to use the cardboard aided design method and find it much faster than the old fashion computer aided design method for a lot of projects.

Man, I'm glad to see that someone is making good progress right now. Work has been keeping me too busy lately.

I've read that exhaust wrap tape will corrode anything that isnt stainless. How fast I havent been able to find, but sounds like significantly faster.

I'm sure you're a ways off from routing your exhaust still. My plan is to use exhaust paint and create a heatsheild that bolts where the one for the passenger axle went.

Also, I think you may be giving me too much credit. I havent done anything with my fuel tanks yet, so the hose trick probably didnt come from me. Although I do now plan to copy that trick when i get to it.

With all this progress, I need to really get back to the truck. At this rate you're going to be done before I am!

Honeybadger: You’re right about the fuel pickup, I may be remembering greengeeker’s build. I will double check his build and edit that and give him due credit. That’s what I get for relying on my memory. Lol! (EDIT: It was not Greengeeker’s build. In fact it was Jon from BleepinJeep’s TDI Cherokee build. Error corrected. My apologies.)

That’s really good info regarding the exhaust wrap. I had never heard that. That’s a good idea to make a heat shield. I definitely look forward to seeing your progress. I’m reaching the point in the project where things are just very slow and tedious. Running wires for the cruise control and sensors related to that. Fiddling with fuel injectors. Gah

Evguy: Y’know, come to think of it, I think it does have paint there. Thanks for the tip. I was wondering why I was having issues cranking. I was going to attribute it to my old battery’s cells dying from it sitting. Now I’ll have to figure out a way to ground it. Any opinions on just running a ground wire to the stud on the starter instead of it being case grounded?

RamblingswithRyan said:

Honeybadger:

Evguy: Y’know, come to think of it, I think it does have paint there. Thanks for the tip. I was wondering why I was having issues cranking. I was going to attribute it to my old battery’s cells dying from it sitting. Now I’ll have to figure out a way to ground it. Any opinions on just running a ground wire to the stud on the starter instead of it being case grounded?

Click to expand...

You bet, be sure to use at least an 8 Ga wire. Also be sure your engine ground is good. Many people forget about the ground side of the circuit, I run a 2 gage cable from the battery negative directly to the engine and then to the frame and body. On the positive side I run a 2 ga cable from the battery to the starter. I also run the original key switch signal through a standard 30 amp automotive relay so the starter solenoid is getting clean battery voltage when you go to start it. Older vehicles will sometimes put out less than 11V to the solenoid due to old wiring and switches. The TD Conversions starters are a 2KW unit so you need to be sure the wiring is up to the task. I prefer 2 ga fine strand welding cable to the usual automotive starter cable. The welding cable is usually a more flexible cable. You could still have a bad battery, check the voltage while cranking to be sure its over 10V.

evguy1 said:

You bet, be sure to use at least an 8 Ga wire. Also be sure your engine ground is good. Many people forget about the ground side of the circuit, I run a 2 gage cable from the battery negative directly to the engine and then to the frame and body. On the positive side I run a 2 ga cable from the battery to the starter. I also run the original key switch signal through a standard 30 amp automotive relay so the starter solenoid is getting clean battery voltage when you go to start it. Older vehicles will sometimes put out less than 11V to the solenoid due to old wiring and switches. The TD Conversions starters are a 2KW unit so you need to be sure the wiring is up to the task. I prefer 2 ga fine strand welding cable to the usual automotive starter cable. The welding cable is usually a more flexible cable. You could still have a bad battery, check the voltage while cranking to be sure its over 10V.

Click to expand...

I will do that. I have a good 2 gauge positive wire running to my starter from my battery already. I definitely do want to install a ground wire from the engine to the frame as well, like you mentioned. I just finished a Jeep CJ7 build recently and installing a ground strap from the engine to the frame made a huge improvement on everything electrical. Thanks for all the useful info.

Coolant routing. This was a project that I was not looking forward to that actually turned out pretty darn easy. I looked at the setup and went to the auto parts store and picked out some hoses that I thought would work. First batch of hoses matched up perfectly. For the lower radiator hose, I used a flexible hose with a 1.5" to 1.25" reducer. We'll see how well it works out. I've always been somewhat skeptical about flexible hoses. The upper radiator did about exactly what I wanted it to do.

Picture of the routing along with an early look at the fuel system routing which I will bring up later in this post.
41167ACA-161E-4641-989E-CDAF18230C87 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

The upper radiator pn showed here.
18B8BAA7-C755-4CA9-B352-1B5C5502ADC0 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Upper radiator hose spliced together with a section I cut from the stock 4.0 lower radiator hose.
F95A5EF3-8F0C-481E-907A-B6794F51DB78 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

The Radiator hoses are done. On to the heater hoses. These were relatively straight forward after the extra downward facing hose nipple is cut off the coolant hardpipe that wraps around the back of the engine. The other heater hose comes off the coolant flange, tees off with one leg going down to the oil cooler, and the other leg of the tee goes to the Ranger heater core. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of photo records of this process. I highly suggest watching Jon's videos on Bleepinjeep channel. He explains the routing of the ALH coolant passages very well and it transfers relatively well to a Ranger system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Na2q1mGGqg

I had to cap off the coolant nipple that is circled in this picture. I debate using this as my outlet for my heater hose instead of the nipple at the other end of the same coolant hardpipe at the back of the engine.
909B530C-FD9E-45A3-B815-5259E63C75D0 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

We will see how my modified coolant hardpipe goes without a flared nipple, since I had to cut a tee off the end of the pipe. It may very well leak or blow off when the coolant system pressurizes.


Fuel system is next on the plumbing list:

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I did the in-tank stuff and got it out of the way. That was the part I was dreading the most. Coincidentally, it turned out to be not all that hard, but it was good to have it done. The next part of the fuel system I didn't do until quite a bit later. That's how it goes when you have to save up to buy the parts you need.
I decided to go with Nicktane on the filter/water separator. and the routing turned out really neat and pretty easy as well. Looking at the picture again of the fuel filter and line routing shows that I initially routed the inlet and outlet lines going to and from the filter incorrectly. The inlet should be fed into the outer fitting and the outlet to the high pressure pump should be coming from the center of the filter assembly. Lapse in brain function there.
41167ACA-161E-4641-989E-CDAF18230C87 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

In the future I may get an AirDog system since this is an offroad truck. Time will tell how much aeration will occur when
I'm sloshing the fuel around on an offroad trail. I've given the truck as good of a chance as I can (short of an AirDog system) with a return line that goes all the way to the bottom of the fuel tank. That will prevent foaming from the return fuel splashing back into the tank if the return ended at the top of the fuel pickup assembly.

Wiring day! I dropped a good chunk of change on a full wiring harness from Fast Forward Automotive. I cannot stress how much time and how many headaches it has saved me in this swap. David up there in Canada has been incredibly helpful with all my many questions. As I'm writing this, I have most of everything completed wiring-wise, but I have a few things to connect up in the dash section. So In full disclosure, I haven't done everything yet, but it is going well. I just got distracted by more pressing matters to see if the engine will fire up.
First off, the pivotal part is deciding where to put the VW ECU. I decided to utilize a stock VW ECU mount and create my own strap. I have a temporary strap made from a web belt that will not stick around, but it will keep it from flopping around like a fish when I'm doing my shakedown runs.

67CB4519-6535-44B1-B42E-AB9350F28A39 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

I took the wiring harness and laid it out over the engine bay generally where it needs to be and then turned my attention toward the dash wiring. I opened up the hole that the stock throttle cable went through. I elongated the hole by connecting the hose to the one right next to it showed in the second picture.
36D96888-32D0-47D4-B9F7-9AD652C8994B by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

7BF03465-A440-4EE1-8033-F5AFF1D933F2 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

This is what the loom looks like passing through the firewall (minus the grommet I have for it. Definitely need a grommet in a situation like this).
56D7B7B8-B5F4-4E46-92C0-E7839C99A882 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

After the wiring is up behind the dash, this is what you'll be dealing with. The dash cluster obviously needs to come out to marry the Ford and VW wiring harnesses together.
1D9862CB-DE9F-45A9-BDA1-0C7857DCBCBB by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

I routed my dash wiring up through this hole showed in the picture below. Ready for soldering.
75270846-275E-4AD3-9EB9-D2FB868A1BB6 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

There are some wires you need to find to tie in if you're using one of Fast Forward Automotive's kits. The biggest thing that's needed by anyone doing a swap is tapping into key on 12 volts. There's a variety of different spots you could do that including the fuel pump circuit under the hood, but what I decided to do is tap into one of the Red/Yel wires supplying key on 12v to the dash cluster.
4CAE4A0B-98B6-4E75-B705-EF5049F4EA31 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

As a side note, I have plans to make a large key-on 12v relay out of an old fender mounted starter relay utilizing the Ranger fuel pump circuit as the relay control. Then I would be able to install a neat buss bar that I could tie accessories into in the future. The relay would be able to handle any of the small accessories I would run off of it so no worries there. I just found it frustrating to try to tap into key-on 12v.

Another plus about David's wiring harness kits is that you get a tachometer signal converter. I screwed my converter up behind the cluster so I could avoid extending the tiny gauge wires from a remote location. It's also easier to access.
345FC12E-5331-4E48-AEFA-01A1594BA4C7 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Here's what it looks like with the cluster back in place. Plenty of space for it.
7AFF9EBC-AD98-4F4F-98B3-A99A556F9013 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

It was at this point that I tried to test crank aaand...nothin. After pouring over the wiring harness diagrams for the Ranger and poking around diagnosing where the voltage to the starter S terminal got lost, I found that I missed the neutral safety wires. I had removed that section of the Ranger wiring harness when I removed the 4.0. Threw it in there after some serious wiring surgery.
8A525B2E-E30A-4066-A74A-A07F4CC183C1 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

B53E4209-C2FA-4178-8217-2FEBC723A83D by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Now it's all wrapped up and pretty with wiring loom on it and all taped up. The only thing needed is the wiring necessary for the neutral safety switch. That's it.
Once that was plugged in, it finally cranked over! I'm not looking to start the engine at all. Too much not completed at the time when I test cranked this. Among other things, I haven't bled the fuel because I haven't messed with my upgrade .764 injector nozzles yet. (in real time, I'm actually working on that now actually)


Video of test crank:

IMG_0993 by Ryan Vincent, on Flickr

Where did you run the 1/4" coolant/bleed line off the back of the head to?

evguy1 said:

Where did you run the 1/4" coolant/bleed line off the back of the head to?

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I was hoping it would just go away. Lol in all seriousness, I’d like to plumb it into the upper radiator hose, but I haven’t figured how I’m going to do it.

It will overheat if you don't run it into the upper rad hose.

evguy1 said:

It will overheat if you don't run it into the upper rad hose.

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Darn haha. Yeah, I’ll do that. I just ordered an in-line coupler with a steam fitting. Actually it’s kind of a good thing because my upper rad hose has a plastic coupler in it and I do not like plastic coolant couplers. I can kill two birds with this metal coupler I ordered and it will give me that steam fitting I need. Thanks for the tips.

What's your plan for coolant overflow/reservoir? I see you're using the Ranger radiator, I'm guessing you're going to use the ranger overflow bottle too?

Not sure if I didn't see it, or you haven't talked about it yet.

HoneyBadger said:

What's your plan for coolant overflow/reservoir? I see you're using the Ranger radiator, I'm guessing you're going to use the ranger overflow bottle too?

Not sure if I didn't see it, or you haven't talked about it yet.

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Ah yes, I neglected to talk about that part. I’m not a big fan of the coolant ball that VW uses. Overall, I don’t like remote fill radiators. Your assumption is correct, though. I am using the Ranger radiator and overflow tank. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Following this thread! I love engine swaps and want to do a TDI in a ranger sometime. For now I have to content myself with a factory diesel 1983 ranger. It just doesn't have the power of a TDI though.