A good friend of mind has a 83 ford ranger that he is lifting to the sky, 6 to 8 inches. he wants to get rid of the v6 in it but i've told him that if he is going go through doing a v8 swap to do a diesel swap. how complicated would that be? would it be more frustating or just really bad *ss truck. he is also rebuilding rear end and all other mechanical parts to be able to hold bigger tires and abuse.

 

It would be a LOT more work than a v8 swap, but if you get it running... Bad4ss!

 

Not really... A Cummins 4bt deisel engine is all mechanical, and has been swapped into Rangers and Broncos successfully already... just google "pirate 4x4 ranger diesel" or "Cummins 4bt bronco"

That should turn up what you're looking for. Although He'll need a new tranny, but with any engine swap, you'd need a new tranny.

 

Really Exspensive

 

A mechanical diesel wouldn't be too hard as far as hook up and getting it to run, but what about weight and clearance? I believe a Cummins 4BT is around 900lbs fully dressed.
Things like suspension modification and custom frame and body work come to mind along with the added weight.

 

with that heavy of a motor in a light weight truck. i woudl think the suspension would wear out faster, and 8" lift would probally only lift it 6"... but thats just what im thinking...
but as far as doing the diesel swap, just box in and plate the frame and add gussests to handle the weight and power..
i would personally put a cammin v8 in it... b/c oh my my my! ha everyone loves the sound of a loud cammin v8 gettin on it! haha

 

if you have the time, patience, cash, and will power to do it, then absolutely. one of those awesome little projects that gains some experience and makes a unique machine out there. as Urandaman said, box/gusset the heck outta the frame, toss in some stiff suspension and then figure out the rest of your electrical/mechanical issues, and go for it. sometimes you just need to push away any doubts and do it ya know! good luck and toss up some updates.

 

The frame reinforcements would be the easy part, the hard part would be beefing up the suspension itself, things like ball joints and bushings aren't heavy enough to handle that kind of weight over time. Then you would have to find springs or torsion bars, which every you have, that will handle the added weight.
The extra weight will also affect the stopping and handling of the truck, so brakes, brake balance and weight distribution will also have to be dealt with.

When you take it all into consideration, it makes a stronger argument for finding a diesel that is closer in weight and size to the engine you took out.
If it were mine, I would have to consider several of the import 4 or 5 cylinder diesels, even though I'd strongly prefer to stay with an American engine.

I knew a guy a while back that took a Cummins M10 and put it in a mid 80's GMC pickup, it ran great but burned more fuel than it was worth. It turned out to be neat idea, but when diesel fuel shot up higher than gas, no one could afford to drive it.

There are a lot of medium weight diesel engines that may be an option, I would have to seriously look at size and weight vs. output if I was going to go used engine shopping. A few ideas that come to mind is maybe a Mercedes car diesel, or maybe one of the Asian cab over truck engines like Isuzu, Nissan, or Mitsubishi? Perkins also has a few lighter engines, but they weren't really meant for highway use.

 

time+money+patience..

if yall have em all.. go for it!

 

Search for the the Pirate 4x4 one. Doing a SAS at the same time makes beefing the suspension a slight bit easier...

-TJ