3.0 L to 1.9L VW TDI sawp

[98v70dad]

you'll have to verify it, but I think the late model 2.3 EcoBoost is a Duratec engine. block is aluminum and bolts to regular Ranger 4 cylinder transmissions.

since you're in Atlanta, have you heard of Ford Performance Specialists?

I haven't owned a Ford for a while. My last one was a 94 Crown Vic. So, I haven't heard of them - I'll check them out.

I used to drive from Chicago to Sharon, PA (near Youngstown) fairly often back in the 80's. Toledo was my place to pull over, get a room and sleep through the snow storm if the weather got bad enough going east. Always liked Toledo for that reason. Snow storms are once every 10-15 years in Atlanta.

Can a regular 4 cylinder Ranger trans take the torque? I want to end up with something robust that doesn't break from being overloaded.

Honestly, I didn't think of the eco-boost because if I bought a new car I wouldn't want one. I'm a design engineer and the ecoboost design violates what I've always done - keeping it simple. I may be wrong but I think that down the road people will find that they are very expensive to maintain and more expensive to repair. I buy cars and drive them about 12 years minimum. For my ranger, though, its a good solution because I probably wont have it more than 5 years.

 

[pjtoledo]

small, mighty, and complicated is the new norm. we should get used to it. though I prefer the old norm too.

FPS once told me they could build a Ranger auto tranny to handle some power.
fordspecialists.com

I don't know about the EcoBoost, but the 2.3 Duratec in my '05 Ranger is about to hit 328,000 miles. still gets 28-29 mpg on the (flat) freeway.

 

[98v70dad]

small, mighty, and complicated is the new norm. we should get used to it. though I prefer the old norm too.

FPS once told me they could build a Ranger auto tranny to handle some power.
fordspecialists.com

I don't know about the EcoBoost, but the 2.3 Duratec in my '05 Ranger is about to hit 328,000 miles. still gets 28-29 mpg on the (flat) freeway.

My concern about the eco boost is not the engine itself, its the turbocharger(s?). I know that tuirbos have gotten a lot more reliable since they first started putting them on cars in the US back in the 70's, but the Ford part is extremely expensive if you need one. If your car has two turbos on it like the F-150 you double the chances of having a problem. My 98 volvo station wagon is a normally aspirated car and its performance is pretty weak BUT the people who have the same car with a turbo have a long list of maintenance problems to deal with that I don't have. Anyhow its worth considering.

The other non-V8 engine offered in the mustang is/was a V6 that has similar HP and torque. Is that V6 too big to fit in the engine bay without a lot of work?

I belong to a trailer/camper forum and the people there either love them and get the actual gas mileage they are supposed to get or hate them because they don't get the mileage or they have been in the shop a lot. I would say more people like them than dislike them but it makes you think twice before spending the money.

 

[Exenos]

If your goal is to save money then just keep the 3.0 and drive it like you stole it. Its hard to re coup the cost of the swap solely in fuel savings.
However if you just want the diesel then expect to spend 3k minimum to do it decently. I'm 2k into my swap with another 5-600 to put it where I want it. And that's with me cutting corners and making a lot more parts than most people do. You can hit 5.0 numbers relatively easily with a tdi but again, that costs money. And a tdi is a bad engine to have if your not one to keep on top of scheduled maintenance.

 

[98v70dad]

If your goal is to save money then just keep the 3.0 and drive it like you stole it. Its hard to re coup the cost of the swap solely in fuel savings.
However if you just want the diesel then expect to spend 3k minimum to do it decently. I'm 2k into my swap with another 5-600 to put it where I want it. And that's with me cutting corners and making a lot more parts than most people do. You can hit 5.0 numbers relatively easily with a tdi but again, that costs money. And a tdi is a bad engine to have if your not one to keep on top of scheduled maintenance.

You unfortunately missed the point. I want to pull a camper and the 3.0 V6 is too big of a performance dog to do that unless you're satisfied with limping along at 35 mph. My dad offered to give me his truck for free and initially I told him I didnt want it. Then it occurred to me that I could do an engine swap and make the truck into what I want for way less money than buying a new truck. If I'm going to do a swap I also would like to get good gas mileage.

 

[Whitbread]

Watch my swap closely over the next 2 weeks. A tdi with a little warming over will have zero issue pulling a ranger around with a 3000lb trailer. I'll put 8000lbs of wood trailer behind mine and do a quick video of getting it up to 50mph when done.

 

[chucky2]

I've been wanting to do a VW TDI swap in my '03 Level II for some time, just never have the time, and now the cab is getting rust so not sure if it'll be worth it.

I think for the power they can make, and the mpg they can deliver, they're about the perfect engine for our Rangers...it's a literal crime Ford didn't keep providing diesel Rangers instead of their limited run back in the...80's?

One thing a lot of these VW TDI + Ranger swaps have though is a manual trans. You want to stay auto, so that is something I think you'd need to look into: how will your existing trans work with the TDI? Not just electrically, that could be overcome possibly by running both the Ford and VW ECUs, and keeping the Ford one for trans operation (if the trans indeed only needed that), but you don't want the trans to drop down a gear and rev your TDI past what it can take.

Whitbread's thread, and greengeeker that is up here at the top with yours, would be good ones to read through. There are also more I believe over at TDIClub Conversions

Chuck

 

[98v70dad]

Watch my swap closely over the next 2 weeks. A tdi with a little warming over will have zero issue pulling a ranger around with a 3000lb trailer. I'll put 8000lbs of wood trailer behind mine and do a quick video of getting it up to 50mph when done.

Thanks. I have looked at your thread many times. Unfortunately, I can't see the pictures and they tell most of the story....at least for someone unfamiliar with a VW TDI like myself.

 

[98v70dad]

I've been wanting to do a VW TDI swap in my '03 Level II for some time, just never have the time, and now the cab is getting rust so not sure if it'll be worth it.

I think for the power they can make, and the mpg they can deliver, they're about the perfect engine for our Rangers...it's a literal crime Ford didn't keep providing diesel Rangers instead of their limited run back in the...80's?

One thing a lot of these VW TDI + Ranger swaps have though is a manual trans. You want to stay auto, so that is something I think you'd need to look into: how will your existing trans work with the TDI? Not just electrically, that could be overcome possibly by running both the Ford and VW ECUs, and keeping the Ford one for trans operation (if the trans indeed only needed that), but you don't want the trans to drop down a gear and rev your TDI past what it can take.

Whitbread's thread, and greengeeker that is up here at the top with yours, would be good ones to read through. There are also more I believe over at TDIClub Conversions

Chuck

Thanks, I would be OK with swapping transmissions also. What other than cost is wrong with using a VW trans? Would it be too big or does the tuned torque output of the engine exceed what a VW trans can handle or would it cause issues with the ECU? Whats the problem with a VW tranny?

 

[Whitbread]

Thanks. I have looked at your thread many times. Unfortunately, I can't see the pictures and they tell most of the story....at least for someone unfamiliar with a VW TDI like myself.

Google up chrome or firefox photobucket link fix, it fixes all the broken pictures as long as you view on a desktop.

 

[98v70dad]

Google up chrome or firefox photobucket link fix, it fixes all the broken pictures as long as you view on a desktop.

Thanks. There are a lot of computers at my house - all laptops.

 

[Whitbread]

Thanks. There are a lot of computers at my house - all laptops.

Taking it a touch too literally LOL. I meant desktop as in non mobile device. There's not photobucket broken link fix for mobile yet, only "desktop" view.

 

[98v70dad]

small, mighty, and complicated is the new norm. we should get used to it. though I prefer the old norm too.

FPS once told me they could build a Ranger auto tranny to handle some power.
fordspecialists.com

I don't know about the EcoBoost, but the 2.3 Duratec in my '05 Ranger is about to hit 328,000 miles. still gets 28-29 mpg on the (flat) freeway.

I've spent some time thinking about it and although the TDI in the ranger is awesome you end up with a Frankensteined sort of result. If my truck breaks down out in the boonies I'd like to be able to pull into a Ford dealer and get it fixed. The TDI swap is just too unique for my purposes. I once built an awesome computer that was perfect for my needs. The only problem was that every time it needed something I was the only one that knew how to fix it. I got tired of that quickly. The TDI swap reminded me of that.

Anyhow, I've started trying to learn about the 2.3 L ecoboost. Does that engine have just one turbocharger? I'll have to check out that Ford performance place you mentioned since I drive by there every day on my 40 mile commute. I need to learn about what tranny might pair well with the 2.3 ecoboost. The original ranger tranny probably cant take the torque. Its probably cheaper to buy something from a wreck that will work than trying to modify the old tranny.

What year did they start using the 2.3L ecoboost in the mustang?

 

[chucky2]

Thanks, I would be OK with swapping transmissions also. What other than cost is wrong with using a VW trans? Would it be too big or does the tuned torque output of the engine exceed what a VW trans can handle or would it cause issues with the ECU? Whats the problem with a VW tranny?

Sorry, cleaning out emails and saw I'd missed this.

I don't think there'd be any issue running a VW trans but the problem is, the TDI's people have available (generally) in the States are ones from VW cars, which are FWD...hence FWD transmissions. I'm not sure what it'd cost as far as shipping, but, you might be able to look at an EU transmission shipped over here. Especially if a.) you could confirm it'd bolt right up to and be controlled properly by the VW TDI that used to run a FWD trans (so, might need the VW computer from over in EU also...which now means you're REALLY getting out into not meeting US emissions) and b.) could get it out of something truck based where the gear ratios are much more applicable to what trucks are used for.

Who knows, if you could indeed confirm that, you might have a complete bolt in solution that 'just works'. Sure it'd cost more, but, if all you're doing is bolting together stuff, maybe that'd simplify it. Course, you'd need to support the trans, have to figure that out as well, as well as driveshaft or transfer case attachment. Fun fun fun...

 

[ben_2_go]

I've spent some time thinking about it and although the TDI in the ranger is awesome you end up with a Frankensteined sort of result. If my truck breaks down out in the boonies I'd like to be able to pull into a Ford dealer and get it fixed. The TDI swap is just too unique for my purposes. I once built an awesome computer that was perfect for my needs. The only problem was that every time it needed something I was the only one that knew how to fix it. I got tired of that quickly. The TDI swap reminded me of that.

Anyhow, I've started trying to learn about the 2.3 L ecoboost. Does that engine have just one turbocharger? I'll have to check out that Ford performance place you mentioned since I drive by there every day on my 40 mile commute. I need to learn about what tranny might pair well with the 2.3 ecoboost. The original ranger tranny probably cant take the torque. Its probably cheaper to buy something from a wreck that will work than trying to modify the old tranny.

What year did they start using the 2.3L ecoboost in the mustang?

From my research the Ecoboost 2.3 started in '09 so it's going to be an expensive take out with all the stuff required to run it. I'm not sure if anyone has cracked the software to program the engine and transmission to run standalone for swaps. It will take further researching. It doesn't push my buttons enough to dig deep for info on it. It may be cheaper to buy a wrecked car for the driveline and then part out the rest of the car to recoup some money.

If you go with a 2.3L Eco, you'll have to stick with the Mustang transmission. From my understanding, those blocks will not mate to the Rangers transmissions. If it has the Ranger 2.3 Duratec transmission mounting pattern, the mustang's auto trans will still need the Mustang computer to shift correctly. I do know that the 2.3/2.5 Lima engine and none of the V6 Ranger transmissions will bolt to the Duratec engine. The 2.3 Duratec is a Mazda designed engine from my understanding.

Getting back to the TDI, if you're having running issues go to a VW repair place. For everything else go to furd. Also, it's difficult to get an auto transmission to work behind a TDI. It can be done but cost does increase.