A guy offered to sell me a diesel engine and trans out of a Ranger the other day. So could anyone tell me what if any parts I would need to transplant it into my 88 Ranger 2wd. Thanks

 

They made a diesel ranger? When? What diesel?

 

It was oolllldddd, early 80s, a 2.2L I believe. Slow as everything, but you know how diesels are, super reliable.

You can still get them outside of the US.

You'll need the whole fuel system, plus any diesel-specific items to the engine or Ranger. Instruments will probably need to be transplanted. Basically anything and everything engine-wise will have to be redone. Plus you'll either need the driveshaft from the donor or to have one made, since the transmission length will probably be different. And there are basically NO items out there for this truck, you'll have a hard time finding anything for the old diesel should you need it.

 

If you've ever been in or drove a diesel pickup, you will notice that the engine speed is much lower than the engine speed on a gasser. So on that note, you will want to see what axle ratio to use with a diesel. I'd be expecting you'll need to swap to granny gears (3.08 - maybe 2.93 possibly). The ratios in the tranny could be different than a gasser too; that you will have to research. In the end, you will have a vehicle with an engine that will have next to impossible to find parts in many cases. This project will be a lot of work with the end result being a kinda disposable truck in the event of major engine problems. I'd think this swap through hard and long; if you really want one of these ol' diesels I'd probably shop around for one that is aready running. It will save you tons of time and money in the long run.

 

Was the engine turboed? There were 2 diesels offered in the US in the Gen 1 rangers, the early one (circa '83-'84) was a TK/Mazda 2.2l N/A, it was a slug, but as RP said, VERY durable and reliable. Since TK/Mazda supplied the common 2wd trans at that time, I'm guessing it was the exact same trans used behind other motors, less the bellhousing maybe. The later diesel was a 2.3l turbo made by Mitsubishi (circa '85-'87). I don't know much about these, but they were respectably powerful and AFAIK also very durable. And since Mitsubishi also made transmissions for rangers, I'm guessing this trans was the same as would have been found in a ranger gasser. Wiring would be a breeze, but gauges could be a challenge. You *should* be able to find a suitable driveshaft out of a truck with the same wheel base as yours, with the appropriate factory trans. Be sure to nab crossmembers if you can. As for motor mounts, I have no idea. I had a 2.2l, it was similar in size to a 2.3l gas, may have used the same mount width, I dunno. Parts ARE hard to come by as RP said, however I found out after I got rid of my diesel that if you look hard enough, they're still out there! If you are looking for a buyer, I'd be interested, let me know if you don't want to tackle the project!

P.S. Cowboy, where do you get the idea that diesel trucks run lower numeric gears? I had an '87 dually 6.9l 4spd with 4.10:1 gears, the diesel ranger I had came with 3.89:1 gears, and both ran about 2500 rpms @ 60 mph.

 

Perhaps he meant running higer gears would be a good idea, since I doubt the tranny at that time was an OD version, and you need to keep the RPMs down since a diesel redlines so low.

 

I beleive that it is a 5 speed trans but not sure, all i know is that they are rare. Around here anyways. It is a turbo engine, the fellow who is selling it is trying to track down the truck it came out of for me so i run the vin #. He swears the engine runs very well. Everyone I ask around here has known of one or heard tell of them, but no one knows if they are any good or a peice of crap. Parts are near impossible to get through the dealer, injectors,pump kits,gaskets,etc. Prehaps I'll buy it and put it in a museum.

 

As we said, it's harder and harder to find parts for them (eBay is a great asset for that kinda stuff though). But they are quite reliable, easily topping 300K, good gas mileage, and decent power.