Hi i have been reading up on a lot about diesel trucks and diesel conversions lately and think that I am about to start preparing my 96 ford ranger for my first diesel conversion.

First off let me tell you what i am looking for:

I recently bought 30 acres of farmland with a long winding driveway, I will need a truck that can take some damage, push some snow, and run for a very long time with very little maintenence. Also when maintenence is needed I would prefer it to be a setup that is easy (and hopefully cheap) to find parts for.

Be a good daily driver and get up to at least 65mph

Able to handle alternative fuels without harming the engine ie vegetable oil, motor oil (i havent read too far into that yet, is it completely safe for the engine? I would warm up the tank its in.)

able to match up to strong transmission and 4x4 (if possible)

30mpg (with diesel) or more if it is possible to make that and meet all the other demands.

I dont plan on pushing large ammounts of snow, and since ive seen people plowing their driveways with quads and lawn mowers i figured a beefed up Ford Ranger should fit the requirements quite well.

I dont plan to cheaply rig it together but i do plan on using used parts from used vehicles (machinery ect.) want the truck to be a real trooper so i have a LOT of thinking to do. I have looked into cummins 4bt, "Jeep" 2.8l, volkwagen 1.9 tdi, and 3l mercades diesel swaps.

I do plan on giving whichever set up i end up with a heafty suspension upgrade, a transmission cooler, skid plates, big beefy tires....


But with all these choices i am having a hard time making a final decision,

I know the cummins 4bt will have the power and probably the reliability im looking for, but i am having a hard time finding them at any reasonable price in my area.

I have read some bad things about the jeep 2.8 that really discouraged me from wanting it, which is a shame because it may have been perfect if people didnt have so many problems with them.

the 1.9 seemed like a great idea at first they are pretty redily avaliable around my area and have a pretty solid track record. but i dont want my truck to be under powered either.

So it may be down to a mercades benz 3.0 swap. I havent read to far into this yet but it sounds quite promising, its size shouldnt be a problem and should offer a decent amount of power. And they are pretty easy to find around here. Price of parts might make me change my tune though im not sure.


Dont worry about the time having it ready for this winter is not an issue

As im sure you can tell i am quite the rookie, not only will this be my first swap it will be my first diesel but everyone has to start somewhere, right?


I am looking forward to your input, any knowledgeable help will be appreciated, thank you.



and sorry if i posted this in the wrong section

 

I dont know how much room there is in the ranger, but a 6at (not the 5.9bt) might fit. Similar in size to a chevy straight 6. It has similar hp/torque to the 4bt, but is 3.4l instead of 3.9, and the spin higer rpm. If not, you might look into the isuzu diesels found in the smaller cab-overs.

 

You "could" fit just about any diesel engine in there with enough work. From What I gather by your post, you want a beater and a daily driver in one.
How much snow do you realistically expect?
How big of plow do you plan on running?
Is there any reason you want the "plow truck" to be a DD?
I've yet to mount a blade to my diesel, but I get the feeling that I'm going to wind up putting my 8' Fisher on it, I just laugh to hard at my dad in the "farm truck" (05 F250 5.4) trying to push with a 7.5' Curtis. Which brings up another good question, how heavy is the plow you plan on running?
I'm not trying to bust your ***** with these questions, just trying to figure out what this truck is going to be expected to do.



If you scroll down to the diesel conversion forum, you might get more replies...

 

I want my plow truck to be my DD mostly because i figure why shouldnt it be able to

I am extremely interested in diesels and their opportunities for alternative fuel sourses and plan on mounting a heated tank and and purge lines
and i like thinking green so a smaller diesel would fit my needs better, problem is pretty much the only small diesel engines around here are in german built cars.

I havent thought much into the plow size and weight I kind of planned on figuring that out after the truck was built, since it will be hard to figure out what kind of weight it can handle at this point, however I have seen plows that fit rangers before (and didnt look too bulky at that)

if i can give it enough power, a strong transmission and strong suspension I dont see why pushing a couple of feet of snow should be a huge deal

From what I have been reading a shorter truck should give me a pretty good advantage since it has a shorter turn radius
Also since diesels deliver more torque at lower rpms they are more suitible for jobs such as hauling and plowing as im sure most of you know


I guess it would be a good idea to look into the weight of the plow, i will look into some lightweight plows that will fit my truck.

there are a lot of people wanting to plow your driveway around here if it piles up to a unreasonable ammount i will call some professionalls in and let them deal with it.... or maybe ill buy a big ol beater plow truck this winter to last till my build is done

I understand this build is going to take a long time but ive thought this through pretty well and this is what i want to do with my truck

6at looks promising from what ive read but another one thats not as common to come across. I will keep an eye out for one though (as well as a 4bt) and i am now looking into isuzu diesels.

 

Another to consider is the kubota v2203di. A couple people have put then in rangers and s-10s with upper 30's to mid 40's for mpg. Slap a turbo on them and they run pretty good. It looks like they were pulles out of carrier reffer units with low hours due to cali emission regs.

 

I was asking about the weight to figure out how you're going to have to build the front suspension.
Can't really help with the transmission until an engine is decided on.
You are correct that a shorter truck will be more maneuverable.

If my previous post came off as some know it all dick, then I apologize, for even though I am a Dick (Yes my name is Dick), it's not that I'm trying to talk down to anyone, I don't care much for using this computer (I get rather irritated that it constantly deletes stuff) so I tend to try and make posts short and to the point.

A counterweight may be necessary with that ranger, and I would suggest a plow that you can quickly and easily mount/dismount to cut down on the wear to the front end.

 

Saw your post while searching for info on doing something similar myself. As I have a small hobby farm, I thought I would give you some practical advice on vehicle selection and what I've seen that works.
First, you really do need at least a farm truck and a DD. The reason being that you will need to have one functional vehicle at all times. This is tricky enough when one of them isn't a project. You're to far from town to rely on just one vehicle working at all times. The additional vehicle will make picking up parts, errands, getting to work, and taking care of emergencies, possible when you're working on one or the other. From your post, I gather that you're going to have alot of projects, you're going to need a truck that can do some moderately heavy hauling. I would also recommend looking for a decent used tractor with a front end loader, trust me it's not something that you will regret.

As for a vehicle burning alternative fuel, the Ford 7.3 IDI worked great for me without out modification, with mods pobly better and for longer. Both the 6.9 &7.3 have excellent reputations and are very sought after for alternative fuel conversations. This is due to several factors that reduce the amount of convertion needed. All long bed models have a two tank system in place, the injection system allows for the simple additional of just a pump, filter, a the line to hook it up. The IDI system results in additional heating of fuel before injection making for a much finer spray pattern.

As for the heavier truck. If you're needing to plow, I've seen several trucks with the entire plow set up selling for under $10,000. This way you would know the truck can handle it, it's less work for you, less stuff to buy. On my old 92 F-250, I had no problem hauling 3000 lbs of hay in the bed. If you go for a 1 ton, most are duallies. I really like the Ford 4x4, I never had a truck with a more effective system to get full traction to all four wheels. If you're doing farm truck work with it, you will tear up the body so no sense in looking for pretty.

Just my advice, I hope it is helpful.