Not sure about the power but theres a 4BT in this ranger - these vids might help you make up your mind:

YouTube - Diesel Ranger 2

YouTube - Diesel Ranger 3

YouTube - 4 BT Cummins Scout Smoking tires

 

Ya now i am definitly considering the 4bt cummins... Those are amazing. Seem like they have more power than the 6.2 and 6.5?

 

Im no expert but yeah, the 6.2 and 6.5 just wernt very good diesel engines - although some will undoubtedly disagree. You can do quite a bit with a 4bt

 

The 4bt doesn't make as much power sitting stock as the 6.5. 130hp 355lb-ft of torque for the 4bt and 200hp and 440 lb-ft for the 6.5. To say there not a good diesel is not completely true. Most of the problems with the 6.5 come from the first ds4 injection pumps which you would not be using anyway and from the later 506 blocks when they installed oil cooled pistons which I would stay away from.

What are you planning to do with the truck? The 4bt would be different but not as easy of a swap. The 4bt has more after market support which means more power potential but it is still not a 6bt. The 4bt may deliver better fuel economy than a 6.5 but I doubt it will do better than a 6.2. and the 4bt runs rougher than a 6.2 or 6.5 being that its a 4 cyd.
The 6.x would be a easier swap but with the after market being slim you can do some things but you pretty well got what you got.

 

As much as I love the Cummins engine, a 6.2 mechanical diesel would be the easiest. Wiring would be simple as well. As far as trannies go, I know you have to go with a diesel torque converter, but aren't there some other internal differences between a gas 700R4 and a diesel one? Like the governor? I don't know a lot about auto trannies, but I would figure that that would be another difference.

I'm currently considering the 6.2 conversion into my 89 GMC and was wondering about the tranny since the gas one I currently have in it is in excellent condition and the diesel one is in good shape, it just hasn't been run in ages.

I'm just partial to the 6.2 swap since I have had nothing but good luck with that engine and am ok with the NA performance since I don't need a heavy puller, I have my bigger Ford for that.

 

How much do you think an average price for the motor, diesel radiator, oil cooler lines, torque converter and ect. would cost?

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Oh and it would be a 6.2 motor

 

It really depends on what type of engine you want? You could pick up a late 90's 6.2 that is rebuild able for not much and rebuild it and do some improvements along the way. Or you could buy a running one and drop it in. You should be able to get a running one for under a $1000. Look for a late 80's or early 90's chevy truck with a diesel and you could probably buy the whole truck for cheap and that would give you most things you need to do the conversion. As far as the rest of the stuff it really depends on how much parts are going for around you.

 

What to heck if you're gonna go to the trouble to convert it go all out and put a 6bt in it .

 

The trouble with converting it from a 305 to a 6.2 is not much more than pulling the 305 out and putting the 6.2 in it. Going from a 305 to a 6bt is a little more involved than that.

 

I didn't say it wasn't more involved, but If I had a gasser blazer I'd put a built 350 gasser in it before I'd put a gutless 6.2, or head gasket blowin 6.5 in it. If I were to do a diesel conversion I'd make it worth my while. In the end it's his truck to decide wich way to go and all we have are opinions, and you know what they say about opinions, there like everybody has 1 and they're all different