Tdi Ranger

Lone Ranger

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Location
Winnipeg MB
TDI
TDI Ranger
I`ve got a 2002 1.9TDI in a 1997 ranger for the sole purpose of having a 50mpg pick up, which for what I do for work is highly advantageous.

The modifications have been countless so I won`t share them all unless asked. But i have kept everything the same as what volkswagen intended minus the EGR system. Even the key from the jetta is still being used, there is probably away around it, but for me just using the VW dash cluster and key was easier I think. Plus that dash cluster was made to monitor that engine, so why get rid of it was my way of thinking.

I've also done away with the a/c and power steering as this truck dosen`t have it. Which looking back on the whole thing now it would have been easier in a truck that had p/s, because the ford manual steering box is right where all of the accessorys went(bottom driver side of engine block)

Pictures soon to come, I hope al of you TDI guys will enjoy. Its been a year project. Just the adapter plate to mate a ford 5 speed and a VW TDI was 2 months, heh
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Cool! I'd like to know more! I assume you made the adapter plate yourself? Can you make more?

My dad has an '84 Ranger he bought new that needs some work but I'd love to do something like this. How does the TDI pull the truck?
 

RichDiesel

Veteran Member
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Point Clark, Ontario
TDI
2002 Silver Jetta
That is awesome!

Doing something smiliar to this has crossed my mind as well. I saw a TDI motor for sale in a newspaper once and it just got me thinking. But.... I don't have the knowledge nor the equipment to make this happen.

Really strange seeing the instrument cluster in that truck.
 

CFM

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Location
Wells, Maine
TDI
1995 Saturn with a 1997 TDI drivetrain.
That's really cool! Nice job on the instrument cluster, too! It looks like you have the motor mounted from the front...could you post a couple pictures of that?
 

weasel

Deactivated Member Account
Joined
Sep 12, 2000
TDI
None.
I hate you for making me miss my Ranger even more. I had an 87. That damned truck was indestructible. Any details on the tranny adapter ?
 

Lone Ranger

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Location
Winnipeg MB
TDI
TDI Ranger
Yeah, greengeeker is right. If You follow the outlet from the turbo you can see it kinda under that front mount. Its sitting on end. Also I will take a few from underneath and a few close ups of the tranny plate/adapter. I should have taken a couple before i put it together for the final time, but I don`t wanna give away all my secrets. :D It looks like I might have even sold a few of these yet and will have to build some more perhaps.

Oh and I didn`t completly make the plate myself, I had help from a local guy to make it happen. I did luck out on an input bearing tho, that fit into the back of the VW crank with a little persuasion. For those of you that don`t know those TDI's don`t have one, the tranny dosen`t slip into the back of the TDI crank which is just bizarre to me.
 

hamradio

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2007
Location
Minnesota
TDI
IDI.
Cool! All this talk of diesel trucks around here lately makes me wish that we had the '80s toyota diesel 4x4's.
 

Lone Ranger

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Location
Winnipeg MB
TDI
TDI Ranger
Tdr

Well the only update so far is that I haven`t been driving it most of the winter on a count of no heat! I live in winnipeg where it goes to -40C in the depths of winter, in that situation the truck was undrivable cause of the frosted windows and no way to get rid of it. I've known for awhile that diesels are notorious for no making heat(cause they are more effeiceint) On the highway it was almost tolerabble, but as soon as it idled for more than a minute it was cold. But idiot me just recently realized what those "glow plug" looking things were on the coolant passage off the head. Turns out those are important in winter, heh.
Once I get it back on the road I will have more pics and comments but solving heat problems are best left to times when it isn`t -30C.

As for the adapter plate it was pretty involved as you could imagine, not really in looks, but in creation. It was the only thing on this project that I didn`t do myself as you need a lot of tools and know how to make this right. Mistakes here can lead to lots of vibration and failure of motor and tranny if the indexing is not perfect. It cost me 3 grand to make it happen but it will be well worth it over the years of saving money on fuel
 

pete9686

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
ellington, ct
TDI
none yet
I would think that even in those bonechilling temps, you would still make enough heat if your thermostat is working correctly.

Do you partially block off the radiator in the winter? I would think that would help.
 

pete9686

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
ellington, ct
TDI
none yet
Yup, that's me. I know diesels are ridiculously efficient at idle, but, I would think that they still make enough waste heat to keep your windows thawed.

I would think that if the T stat closes fully so that your heater core becomes the only means of heat disipation, you'd get enough.

Maybe I'm wrong on that though.

I had an old 300 SD which on a cold morning you could let it idle for 20 minutes (if you were lucky enough to get it started) and it would still be cold.
 

TDIsyncro

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Saskatoon, SK
TDI
Audi/TDI x 2
I like it. Good job. I hope yo kept a template for the adapter plate. As far as heat, my VW is a litle cool up here too, but cardboard, good thermostat, a bank of coolant glow plugs, big alternator, and PP520 injectors all make it much better...oh and a heavy foot helps too.:D
 

TDIMG

New member
Joined
Feb 16, 2008
Location
portland, or
TDI
1.9 AHU
Lone Ranger - I have a 96 Ranger and was thinking about doing the same with an AHU. Was wondering if you had any clearance issues with the oilpan and if you used the 5-speed from the Ranger. How's the power and mileage?

Thanks,

Matt
 

lews930

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Location
tampa,florida
TDI
96 passat
maybe a stupid question but i'll ask anyway. Were you able to get the speedo working or does it have some other computer to power it?

lewis
 

yatzee

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Location
Montreal, Qc
TDI
see sig
I've also got an 97 Ranger and with 300,000 kms on it, a converstion like this would be ideal. Did you use the original main harness?
 

alphaseinor

TDI Innovator, Gone but Not Forgotten
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Location
Denton, TX
TDI
'03 Jetta TDI 780,000 miles (totaled out), 01 Audi TT 225 Quattro 230,000 Miles (runs great!), 00 Cabreetle Beetle dash, ALH & MK4 harness Swap
lews930 said:
maybe a stupid question but i'll ask anyway. Were you able to get the speedo working or does it have some other computer to power it?

lewis
if you look closely he used the VW cluster, it has a standard pickup for the transmission... basically it opens and closes a switch at a certain rate, so as long as the transmission had an electronic pickup, it's just a matter of splicing in the wiring... at least IMHO...
 

Lone Ranger

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Location
Winnipeg MB
TDI
TDI Ranger
Questions

Alright boys, alot of new questions here. I'll do my best to answer most of them.
First off, the heat issue. The thermostat stays closed pretty much the entire time. It don`t make enough heat to open it at idle when its -40C. So blocking the rad and what not didn`t really do anything. If you can`t understand this you'll have to do some research on how a cooling system works. But VW has put glow plugs in the coolant passage off the head to the heater core which I'm now sure are to correct this exact scenario, they use a 50 amp fuse so I'm sure that should solve this problem for next winter

And mileage, when I last had it one the road in late October is was right around 40. Keep in mind this is -20C and with a load and lots of stop and go over 500kms. I don`t see why in summer this won`t do 45+

As for an oil feed restrictor I'm not sure what you are refering to. So I guess the answer is no if I had used one.

The adapter plate I have not made a template of but there is talk of my friend who works at Standard Aero to possibly be inputing the measurments into a CNC computer for later fabrication if I have a few ppl that would like to purchase one. The original was made by Dale at Sandale Automotive and he told me that he hopes he never has to make another, hahah
It is using the 5 speed M50-R1, I just changed the rear end to 3.08s from 3.73s

I did get the speedo working by a melding the ford pickup off the tranny to the VW wiring. VW uses a powered sensor(3 wire) Ford does not.

I did use the original main harness and pretty much everything else VW engine related. It was the easiest way I thought instead of trying to create new. There was lots else for me to do instead of worrying about that

Now to clearance issues. There was one big one, the ranger cross memeber is too tall to allow the diesel to sit level and had to be cut and re-welded. I later learned that this project might be easier on a ranger that has power steering and a rack and pinion, as mine was manual steering and some of the linkages were in the way and hit the oil pan
 

lews930

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Location
tampa,florida
TDI
96 passat
anybody have height. weight, length dimesions for these motors?
I'm planning a swap into my rx7. doing leg work right now o see if even feasible without cutting the car

Lewis
 

Or Turbo Diesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Location
Portland, OR 97232
TDI
1995 Passat GLX Wagon, 2003 Jetta
Earlier style (ahu) 1996 to 1999: height = 27", width = 18", L = 19" w/no flywheel or clutch assy. yet, and no a/c comp. so add a few more inches to length.

Weight anyone?
 
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