TDI Ranger Build

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
It's my turn for a conversion thread! :)

I've noticed quite an increase in conversion threads lately and figured I should start up my own. I've been doing my homework for the better part of a year planning all the details of my swap but also developing my own adapter. More on the latter in another thread.

I'm starting with a 2000 Ford Ranger:
2.5L, 5pd, 2wd, 199k miles.



And the previous owner decided he wanted to attempt a no-timing belt record with disastrous results:



I suppose it isn't all that bad since I got a surprisingly rust-free (99% :eek:) Ranger for my swap. So I rescued the Ranger from the field mice with a buddy's truck and trailer (a helluva guy who's let me use this combo to haul many a vw's). I think the next picture is pretty comical. If you can't read the sticker in the back window it says "At least it's not a Dodge."



So I'll combine this truck with a 2000 New Beetle that I purchased from a club member. It was in a front end accident a year prior and also thought it would be a good idea to provide a home to some field mice - I did not have a fun time removing the nest out of the dash to get at the wiring and ecu. I think I removed 3 full grocery store bags worth of carcasses, nest, feces...yuck. I unfortunately do not have a shot of the car in its natural habitat but it was stored up in the pines on the back 40acres of a friend of a friend.

Here it is during the drivetrain removal:



The front end accident did a number to the car destroying the header panel, radiator, fans, condensor, power steering pump, accessory bracket, passenger motor mount. Because of this last one it actually shoved the engine into the firewall so hard that it snapped off the intake and of course the little mount ear off the back of the block. No big deal as I'm not using that for my mounts. :D The car also donated a number of parts to the B4 sitting next to it.



The plan of course is to drop the ALH into the Ranger but the kicker is I need to have it ready for a car show at work where we are commemorating the closing of the St Paul assembly plant (for those not in the know Ford Rangers were made in the St Paul Ford plant;)). Normally I would bring my 55 Chevy but I feel this is a good excuse to spend some time on the Ranger. The race is on to get this truck together in 30 days!!

Once together I intend to do some serious testing of the truck with several stages of performance modifications that will take this truck beyond the stock power levels of any of the original Ford engines. :cool:

Stay tuned.
 

curtis75

Well-known member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Location
London, ON
TDI
none, yet
I'm excited to see how this works. I am doing the same swap except in an 02 FX4. I'm not too far into my build yet but I'm sure I'll have some questions for you.
 

Growler

Got Soot Vendor
Joined
Nov 24, 2003
Location
Millersport, Ohio
TDI
Schmutz, 2015 Golf Sportwagen DSG & Schnurren, 2001 Golf GL 2 door 5M
good luck with your timeline! wheres the thread about the adapter :)
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Just so you know, that Ranger's engine is not an interference engine, and a new belt takes all of about 30 minutes. Just sayin'. :eek:

But if you do successfully make an adapter to mate the ALH to the Ford 2.0/2.3/2.5L "Pinto" engined Mazda R5 gearbox, let me know and I'll buy a second one from you. I have my dad's old '84 Ranger I could do the swap to. And it is a flatbed with the factory HD suspension, no power steering, and no A/C... perfect work truck. :D
 

white95v6

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Location
tullahoma,tn
TDI
2000 jetta 5spd tdi 2003 jetta jw 5spd tdi
I was just thinking I would like tdi powered 4x4 ranger.lol now time to watch this thread to.
 

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
Just so you know, that Ranger's engine is not an interference engine, and a new belt takes all of about 30 minutes. Just sayin'. :eek:

But if you do successfully make an adapter to mate the ALH to the Ford 2.0/2.3/2.5L "Pinto" engined Mazda R5 gearbox, let me know and I'll buy a second one from you. I have my dad's old '84 Ranger I could do the swap to. And it is a flatbed with the factory HD suspension, no power steering, and no A/C... perfect work truck. :D
As if I care what condition the motor is in. ;) All that matters is the previous owner thought the motor was trashed.
 
Last edited:

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
what oilhammer said ^^.....I've owned a few "pinto" engined fox body cars ....torqueless wonders but no worries about bending valves...;).....your ranger swap is going to be awesome..... with a TDI it will still feel better than a V6 powered truck~!
 

curtis75

Well-known member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Location
London, ON
TDI
none, yet
I would be interested in an adapter plate for sure, it should fit the 4.0L I believe as well. I would even be interested in buying the drawing off you if that was easier/quicker.
 

blazen71

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Location
Wiskullsin
TDI
All Gone
Good luck!!!! I have a 91 Ranger with 3.0 and 5-speed. One of the most reliable trucks I've had!
 

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
what oilhammer said ^^.....I've owned a few "pinto" engined fox body cars ....torqueless wonders but no worries about bending valves...;).....your ranger swap is going to be awesome..... with a TDI it will still feel better than a V6 powered truck~!
Thanks Jimmy. I'm borrowing a lot of your wiring tricks to on this guy and intend to use the Ranger components, cluster, etc. It will probably mean more work but in the end I think it'll look better and be more durable/weather protected.
 

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
good luck with your timeline! wheres the thread about the adapter :)
Thanks Aaron. To be honest I've been plugging away at the project for the last 6 months so I don't want anyone to think I'm rolling this in and out of the garage in 30 days. I think if one did their homework and prepped that could be done. I intend to make this build thread as detailed as possible so someone can shave as much time as possible off their Ranger build.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
But if you do successfully make an adapter to mate the ALH to the Ford 2.0/2.3/2.5L "Pinto" engined Mazda R5 gearbox, let me know and I'll buy a second one from you.
If for the 4.0l SOHC Ford/Mazda I'll buy one... would drive my Mazda B4000 everywhere if only it got even close to the fuel economy my two TDI Jetta's do.

The truck takes me 350 km (220 miles) on a 70l (18.5 US gallons) tank of gas... if I'm lucky. :eek::) Gas that's 10 cents a liter more expensive than diesel. :(
 

Alchemist

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Location
Lethbridge, Alberta
TDI
'04 ALH Golf
I am about to start a Ranger conversion from 4L V6, so if the plate will work put me on the list. I also think I have found a way to make the Ford Cruise switches work with a VW ECU. More on that later if there is any interest.

Paul
 

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
As far as making adapters for the other bellhousing patterns I am entertaining the idea. For the time being I'm going to stick to the manuals. One could always purchase a used transmission out of lima motor Ranger to use in any v6 or duratec Rangers. They are so plentiful in the bone yards they go for $200-300. This was actually part of my development process - I bought three trannys to get four separate outputs from the CMM. That way I'm not left with a one-off bolt pattern that fits perfectly for one transmission ( the one measured) and fits like crap for the rest.

Paul, yes I am interested in how you plan to do this. I have my own way but I'm sure yours will be better. I'm still trying to understand the components in the CEL circuit you designed for Jimmy.
 
Last edited:

Alchemist

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Location
Lethbridge, Alberta
TDI
'04 ALH Golf
Does anybody know if the 4 cyl has a different bell housing than the V6? Mine has a 5 Sp manual, but I don't know what the bell housing is like yet. First I need to get a safety inspection, then the fun begins.

Paul
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
The Rangers only over got the Cologne V6 or the Vulcan V6, no Duratec. I am not sure of the different bellhousing patterns, but I am thinking they are all different, because the 4cyl has backwards mounting bolts on each side of the crankcase, which would be impossible on any V6 engine.
 
Last edited:

Lone Ranger

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Location
Winnipeg MB
TDI
TDI Ranger
Well I have an adpter plate and motor mounts already made for this. Msg me for pics if you need photographic proof.
ps. my 2nd tdi ranger is almost done. See my other threads to see it and what happened to it :(
 

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
Does anybody know if the 4 cyl has a different bell housing than the V6? Mine has a 5 Sp manual, but I don't know what the bell housing is like yet. First I need to get a safety inspection, then the fun begins.

Paul
The v6 is most definitely different. I need to go back through my notes but I believe the old 2.8 and 4.0L (not sure if both OHV or SOHC) have the same pattern and the 3.0L is again something different.

The Rangers only over got the Cologne V6 or the Vulcan V6, no Duratec.
I was refering to the 2.3L Duratec.
 
Last edited:

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
Well I have an adpter plate and motor mounts already made for this. Msg me for pics if you need photographic proof.
ps. my 2nd tdi ranger is almost done. See my other threads to see it and what happened to it :(
I've been following your swap since you first posted and was pretty disappointed (as I'm sure you were) of how that ended up. :( I look forward to seeing your next truck.
 

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
Out comes the motor

Nothing earth shattering here just the obligatory swap pictures of removing the old drivetrain. I was disappointed I couldn't remove the engine and tranny together. My load distribution bar only allowed so much of an angle so maybe it would work but I just found it easier to separate them and pull them out separately.

Time to remove the VW drivetrain: 30min (I will admit drivetrain removal is made easier when the radiator/header panel is sitting in the back seat when you start:))

Time to remove Ranger drivetrain: 3 hours :eek:










 
Last edited:

Freestyle72

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 5, 2011
Location
Milton, ON
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI, 2001 Jetta TDI
Keep up the good work. Any reason you are opposed to doing a drawing/print of an adaptor plate?
 
Top