I was brainstorming the other day about putting a diesel in a Ranger or S10. GM and Ford don't seem to want to put diesels in anything but the big pickups ie. the F250. The F150 may get one but I won't hold my breath. Would a TDI with auto trans work in a Ranger and be able pull a small sailboat or small trailer? Would a Mercedes 3.0 turbo diesel work better? The conversion would be a huge challenge but someone has to have thought of it before me. Am I right?
Diesel Ford Ranger or S10
- Thread starter SeanP
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speed185187
Veteran Member
Ford and GM already beat you too it, they just dont sell them in the US 
TurbinePower
Veteran Member
A VW auto trans wouldn't work in a Ranger or an S10, because those are RWD longitudinal vehicles and the VW trans is transverse.
Antsrcool
Vendor
somebody must make a kit to adapt the bell housing from the ford/sten to the v dub engine?
That makes me so mad that the US doesn't get more diesels. Years ago when I went to Germany on an ANG trip, they had plenty of diesels. I remember driving a military VW bus that had a water cooled flat diesel in the rear. Anyway, I thought a Mercedes diesel would be good since there are so many of them in junk yards (including PicknPull) plus Rangers and S10's are reasonably priced. I would love to put a TDI in a Ranger and an adapter plate can be made but will the transmission gear ratios from a gasoline engine work with a diesel engine?
greengeeker
Vendor
I knew someone had to have thought of this before me. What an awesome truck!! It had to be hell getting a VW engine/clutch to mate with a Ford tranny. I would have to have the A/C and power steering. Well, maybe not power steering but definitly A/C. It's too hot here in Texas. Do you have more pics? How come I can't find a TDI engine anywhere in Dallas?
RoundHouse
Veteran Member
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- Ga USA
Acme makes an adapter to mate the tdi to a Toyota 5 speed.
so you could just use the VW engine and Yota trans. Might as well use whole yota truck.
so you could just use the VW engine and Yota trans. Might as well use whole yota truck.
REDNECKDZL
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- TDI
- 2001 Jetta, 2015 Jetta, 1984 Wabbit TD, 1986 RX7 waiting on AHU swap
I know of someone with an old 2.2 vw diesel with volvo tranny that swapped that into an early 80s ranger, they even put a small turbo on it.
Goes like shunk, all you would need to do is make an adapter to fit the ranger tranny, the rest wouldn't be too hard.
the gearing is the only issue.
Goes like shunk, all you would need to do is make an adapter to fit the ranger tranny, the rest wouldn't be too hard.
the gearing is the only issue.
Pat Dolan
Veteran Member
The Ford Ranger came with a Mitsu 2.4 or so. Find one of those, and there is no swapping to be done. Throw a turbo on and it will perform quite well.
The S-10 is the ideal candidate for a 4.3 GM V6 diesel swap. Almost a straight bolt in (don't know if the mount pads are there for longitudinal - engine came only in J bodies). GM corporate small bolt pattern bolts right up to T5 in 2WD OR 4WD format. Hang a turbo on one of those, and the performance should be truly impressive.
The S-10 is the ideal candidate for a 4.3 GM V6 diesel swap. Almost a straight bolt in (don't know if the mount pads are there for longitudinal - engine came only in J bodies). GM corporate small bolt pattern bolts right up to T5 in 2WD OR 4WD format. Hang a turbo on one of those, and the performance should be truly impressive.
TurbinePower
Veteran Member
It's finding one that's the trick there. I'd love to have one of those 4.3 V6 engines to run stationary as the powerplant for a number of things, but finding them is hard...Pat Dolan said:
toohighpsi
Vendor , w/Business number
It was a 2.3 liter Mitsu engine, and they were all turbo from the factory. I have an '86 Mitsu Mighty Max with the same engine, its a really great engine in my opinion. Great power and economy for an old indirect injection engine. I run my truck hard with the boost raised 5 or 6 psi over stock, and have had over 2000 lbs of wood pellets in the back on multiple occasions with never a problem. The only real downside is the turbo lag. Its got great power while in boost, but its got some pretty serious spool up time. I've thought about trying to adapt a VNT or a small garrett to it to improve the situation.Pat Dolan said:
Oh, and the early rangers did have a non-turbo 2.0 Mazda diesel '84-'85 I think, and the Mazda diesel was made by Perkins. I haven't driven one of these but have heard they are real dogs.
Chris
bsalbrig
Veteran Member
I have a 83 diesel ranger. It was one of the non-turbo models that came with a mazda engine. It made it to 250k before the original engine died, Then it was converted to a nissan sd-22 which took it another 75k before the trans died, I replaced the trans and drove it another 20k when the oil sending unit broke and let all the oil pump out of the engine, I now have another sd-22 that I am going to combine with the other to make a complete engine. If I could find someone with a turbo 4x4 that was in good shape I would jump all over that.
Scott_DeWitt
Vendor
A collegue of mine has an isuzu truck of similar vintage and a chev luv diesel. Between the two he's got about 500,000 miles. He routinely pulls his formula ford loaded with tires and fuel all over the country with the isuzu and claims to get 30 mpg loaded and hauling driving like mrs. Daisy.
Easiest may be the old bread truck engines. They made a 3.7 Ford/Hercules diesel that they had in those trucks in the 80's. IIRC, they were mated to a Ford T-19 transmission, so they already have the bellhousing/flywheel/clutch to make it easier to go to a Ranger. Power was not big (<90 hp?) but heard they are efficient and have the power to pull what you need them to. Just a thought, probably easier conversion and likely alot less to buy the engine/tranny than the going rate for a TDI. FWIW
Pat Dolan
Veteran Member
I don't know if those ever made it to Canada. Any place to find more info? Did the engine have a Ford b pattern, bolt or did it use an SAE bellhosing or a custom T-19 case? Sounds like something that would be great with mild boost, but just uttering the words "Herc" tend to suggest some pretty big weight for an S-truck or littel Ford.Sorexcuse said:
toohighpsi
Vendor , w/Business number
Check www.car-part.com, search '85 Olds 98 for 4.3 diesel engine, I came up with about 10 listings for junkyards that have them for between $500-600.TurbinePower said:
cbass94
Veteran Member
I saw these everywhere in Brazil when I lived there, along with the F-150's that had the same engine. However, it's the new ones that are amazing engines. They bumped up the displacement to 3.0L from 2.8L, added common-rail and a Variable Nozzle Turbo and the engine pulls like a train while still getting great fuel mileage! If only the big three weren't so stupid and would push for these in the US more, we might have a slightly smaller impact on fossil fuel usage.tigris said:
Eye candy of the engine:
Not sure if they made it to Canada or not. Didn't realize you were in SK. Trying to remember, but don't think they are much heavier than a SBF, but could be wrong. I think they still make the engine, just for industrial applications now, search the web for 'Hercules Engines'. They were about as much Ford as the Cummins is a Dodge.Pat Dolan said:
It mated to the standard 2wd T-19 casing, but I think there was a special bellhousing to go between the two. There was one for sale on the web, check out craigslist.org for Buffalo, NY.
Sorry can't be more help. You may want to check out sites for swapping the Cummins 4BT engine as they were both in bread trucks but the Cummins was much more common.