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Kubota V2203 -> Ranger

80K views 43 replies 19 participants last post by  Shadetreemechanic 
#1 · (Edited)
A guy came into my shop the other day and asked us to make a adapter plate up for his Kubota engine to mate it to a ranger 5 speed. It worked rather well actually, as the clutch was the right dimensions for the kubota flywheel and he had figured out that the spacer plate needed to be 3/4" thick. He used the Kubota SAE starter as well. The motors only a 2.2l with something like 40 horsepower, but he wasnt looking to go fast, just get good fuel economy. Figured I would post it up seeing there have been more johndeer and kubota swappers about lately.
Heres a couple of pics.

Just to note: The AutoCad drawings for this project are NOT for sale.
 

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#3 ·
I dunno honestly, the guys supposed to get me more info on his swap, all i know right now is that he got the motor from a outfit in georgia for cheap with a warranty, and he had a freind that did the conversion before and got pretty good mileage out of it. If you know what model the motor of those perkins are I might be able to check on it.
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
kubota powered ranger

A guy came into my shop the other day and asked us to make a adapter plate up for his Kubota engine to mate it to a ranger 5 speed. It worked rather well actually, as the clutch was the right dimensions for the kubota flywheel and he had figured out that the spacer plate needed to be 3/4" thick. He used the Kubota SAE starter as well. The motors only a 2.2l with something like 40 horsepower, but he wasnt looking to go fast, just get good fuel economy. Figured I would post it up seeing there have been more johndeer and kubota swappers about lately.
Heres a couple of pics.
Hello, just curious, what did you charge him for that plate? I thinking of doing this same swap. I deal with small diesels all the time, and have about sixty 3 and 4 cylinder engines in my shop. I am very knowledgeable on all these, and have done conversions on small 2wd pickups before. I do have a few Nissan diesels with trannies on them, but would like to keep my Ford transmission this time. I have an '88 2.0 liter Ranger (first year updated tranny) and another '87 supercab with a V6. The '88 is my keeper, and I like the newer Kubota 50hp V2203-DI's (have several here) as they are lightweight and are not glow plug dependant. These start instantly with virtually no smoke, and are about as efficiant as they get.

Dont be fooled by the low horsepower ratings on those engines, the industrial engines are rated at low rpm's. This can be changed with a turn of a scew on the injection pump, in most cases. The best way to get an idea on power output is to consider the actual displacement of the engine.

My last conversion was another '88 Ranger, I used a Nissan SD23 (rare engine in the states) and it worked rather well, got between 33-38 for mileage, and could cruise all day at 80mph. Sold it to a guy in Georgia, and he loves it.
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello, just curious, what did you charge him for that plate? I thinking of doing this same swap. I deal with small diesels all the time, and have about sixty 3 and 4 cylinder engines in my shop. I am very knowledgeable on all these, and have done conversions on small 2wd pickups before. I do have a few Nissan diesels with trannies on them, but would like to keep my Ford transmission this time. I have an '88 2.0 liter Ranger (first year updated tranny) and another '87 supercab with a V6. The '88 is my keeper, and I like the newer Kubota 50hp V2203-DI's (have several here) as they are lightweight and are not glow plug dependant. These start instantly with virtually no smoke, and are about as efficiant as they get.

Dont be fooled by the low horsepower ratings on those engines, the industrial engines are rated at low rpm's. This can be changed with a turn of a scew on the injection pump, in most cases. The best way to get an idea on power output is to consider the actual displacement of the engine.

My last conversion was another '88 Ranger, I used a Nissan SD23 (rare engine in the states) and it worked rather well, got between 33-38 for mileage, and could cruise all day at 80mph. Sold it to a guy in Georgia, and he loves it.
Hi, I just aquired a v2203-DI-E out of a Carrier reefer(got to love the California emission nazis). I don't know what the hp&tq #'s are and how much can be easly turned up. Can a turbo be added with out hurting the motor. Looking to put in my 89 Ranger 5spd. Any info would be greatly appreaciated, thanks in advance.
 
#8 ·
I'm glad to see some people using Kubota engines for swaps. They make probably the best equipment in the world and their engines are top notch. They're also one of the more easier engines to come buy and they're not outrageously expensive like other industrial engines. I've been thinking once i could get some cash together i would like to swap a new v3300 di-t with 87hp and 227 ft-lb into an 90-96 Ford F150 4x4 or into my girlfriends dakota. I think that would be a sweet combo and yield really good mileage. I've also thought it would be sweet to start a business retrofitting older pickups and such with these motors and selling them, but i think I would be dreaming considering the margin for profit wouldn't be much, but it defiantly would help a lot of people out at the pump and keep them driving their pickups instead of selling them.
 
#10 ·
As far as smaller diesels go, Kubota makes a great low cost engine that you can actually get parts for. I honestly like the Yanmars just as much, but the'll kill you on parts, if you can find them. Mitsubishi parts have gone so high that a few simple parts rival the cost of a whole engine. There are quite a few different engines that would work well in half-ton pickups, but I would recommend staying in the 4.0 liter range, a 3.3 liter engine would be kinda stressed even with a turbo. John Deere made some nice engines that pop up for sale now and then, they made some of the 3.9 and 4.5 liter four cylinder engines that would work great. Most guys would just go to using a 4B Cummins, there are plenty of other people doing swaps with them, so it is eisier finding adaptor plates and other nessesary parts you'd need.
Yes, the profit margine would definatly be a problem...
 
#13 ·
Sounds like you are a fellow traveler! I have been collecting Kubotas over the years, along with my beloved Isuzus. I disagree with your assessment of the 3.3 (V3300) being too small, as it more engine than the Isuzu 2.8 liter that was used in 7 ton trucks. I have a V3300T that I plan to use in a '91 Land Cruiser. I know it will out-perform the OEM Toyota diesel. I've been thinking of finding a small car to put a V1500 into, kind of a mileage experiment. Lots of reefer engines, both Kubota and Isuzu, coming up for sale as the new emission regulations come into force.
 
#11 ·
No, they dont really sell their engines under somebody elses name in most cases. There were a few exceptions in the marine world, but you could still find the kubota numbers on the blocks. Shibaura produces engines for mitsubishi, isuzu, perkins, new holland, etc. and will put totally different casting numbers on the blocks, so you'd never recognise them, even though the parts would be the same. There was a guy I met that needed a clutch for his Kubota tractor, and they wanted too much for one. He took it to a junk yard and matched it to a Suburu clutch and only spent like $50 bucks on it. It's amazing how so much of this stuff fits together if you have an eye for recognising things. A few years back, I took an old Ford Ranger and put a 3.8 V6 into it from an 85 LTD. The carb was a rejetted 289 part, the bellhousing was from a 302, the flywheel and clutch were off a 300 six, tranny was an aluminum toploader 4 speed ($60 off Ebay from an unknown Ford 70's car). I didn't even need to change the driveshaft, it all fit together. The only problen was the location of the oil filter. I put a remote filter settup from a Kubota diesel engine, and it screwed right on. So the only metal work was the engine and tranny mounts. I kind of did it for fun, and the whole swap costed about $300 bucks, and some of my time.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Ya like i said before it's just too bad that to get someone to do a diesel swap for you is 10-15 grand. Thankfully i'm mechanically inclined so it's no problem for me to tackle a project like this. But for other people that aren't and want to do something like this it would be an expensive endeavor. If you could only get a surplus of one engine tht fit a lot of applications so that the initial cost of the engine came down from the factory then found a way to make the adapters modular so that machining would be efficient and not a one off case everytime then you would be in business because then you would drop the price of a swap down to 7-8 grand which is pretty resonable for retorofitting a vehicle you own instead of buying a whole new vehicle. Oh well just a dream for all of us on this board to get everyone into a diesel, cause when you do your hooked haha. Good point on the subaru clutch fitting a kubota tractor, if you look at transmissions and clutch/torque converter of a ford, gm and mopar the parts are very similar just minor differences. It seems phoenix adapters has come up with an all around good solution to the problem.
 
#15 ·
The problem doing things like this for other people, it makes you liable for all sorts of things, and they would blame any future mechanical problems on you, and always want free repairs. People who are not mechanically inclined are like this. The only way I would do it, is to buy the vehicle first so I own it, do the swap and resell it 'as is' to the person. Either that, or have some papers signed so your not responsible for any future events.
You will never see any good small vehicles for sale officially in the US. They need to keep us on gasoline. It's not about emissions at all, considering the fact that diesel is less harmful to the environment, and puts out less polution per mile. Most other developing countries want diesel fuel, not much gas. Since there will always be gasoline coming out of a barrel of oil, they will need a place to sell it. Thats why we will be constantly bombarded with big gas guzzlers. Oil companies hold interest in the automotive industry, and dictate what they can sell here. They need to keep us on gas to balance the demand with the rest of the world. The EPA is an agency that is there to help keep it this way. The owners at the top manage us to their bennifit. These guys are behind all this stuff that doesn't make sense, unless you can see the big picture. On a recent trip to central america, we couldn't help but notice the abundance of nice little diesel trucks all over. Makes me want to move...
 
#18 ·
You mean a V1505, not a V1500, right?

Yep. My first diesel was a n.a 4bd1 in a 1 ton Ford van. Quick? No, but 30 mpg sounds pretty good right now. I have the same 3.3 Kubota in my tractor, without turbo, and it is a beast. I don't know about my truck, but I admit I am Turbo Dependent!
 
#22 ·
Kubota Ranger swap.

2 years and 4 months ago I completed this swap using a 2003T into an 03 Ranger. I have since put 66000 miles on it with no problems. It is not the fastest thing on the road but if you set the cruise at 60 it just rolls along. I get around 30 mpg in the summer and 25 to 27 in winter. You can read all the gory details on the diesel bombers forum, just type in Kubota Ranger swap.
 
#23 ·
2 years and 4 months ago I completed this swap using a 2003T into an 03 Ranger. I have since put 66000 miles on it with no problems. It is not the fastest thing on the road but if you set the cruise at 60 it just rolls along. I get around 30 mpg in the summer and 25 to 27 in winter. You can read all the gory details on the diesel bombers forum, just type in Kubota Ranger swap.
what was the stock engine in your ranger? btw do you have pictures of the swap?
 
#25 ·
I still have the 4.10 gear that it came with and I think it is just about right. It runs 65 mph at 2500 in fifth and maxes out at 60 in fourth. If it was geared any higher I think I would be doing a lot of downshifting to fourth and would be hard to get going from a stop. The older Rangers, 93 for example had 3.73 gears and a closer ration transmission and I am sure that would work just fine but you would be doing more shifting. My Ranger is a supercab 4x4, don't know what it weighs, but I carry a lot of tools so it is pretty heavy. I think my 122 CI is probably quite bit stouter then a 134CI without a turbo. After shimming up the waste gate actuator I now have about 10# boost from 2400 on up. My Ranger originally had the 4.0 cammer which had lots of power but I have doubled my fuel mileage. My daily drive consists 120 miles on very rough hilly highyway and 15 miles of chugging around rough and muddy dirt roads with lot of idling time so I am not too disappointed with my mileage. I suppose the Ranger swap you mentioned was a 2 wheel drive regular cab since it had the 2.3L engine. Thanks for your interest, Jake
 
#27 ·
Thanks for the reply Jake, I have the Mercedes OM617 5cyl in my Cherokee and was planing to put this motor in the Ranger, but the mpg's are only in the mid to high 20's ( got 30 on a 250 mi trip) so I picked up this Kubota in hopes of getting better mpg's. I was thinking on keeping the rpm's @ 1800-2000 at cruise, keeping it at it's peak, that's what the hp/tq map shows. I guess I'll find out when I get it installed, the motor was FREE so I have nothing to loose but my time.
 
#28 ·
You can find the answer to most of the questions over on the kubota ranger swap at diesel bombers. There was plenty of room for the engine but I had to tilt it 14 degrees to left for the botttom of it to clear the front differential housing and notch the oilpan. That made it a little tight for the ac compressor, alt, and power steering which all mount on the left side. In first, second and third it vibrates a little below 2000 when pulling so I am thinking that it might be a little tough on the springs in the clutch hub. It has pretty good low end grunt but when pulling I usually shift to keep it above 2000 even though torque peak is about 1800. I think 30 mpg is about as good as you will ever get with a rig like mine regardless of what engine you have in it. I am keeping track of every gallon and every mile, some times it burns less then other times but that is what the average is. I would like to put one like I have in an old Pinto if I could find one in ggod shape. Fat chance. With a modern 5 or 6 speed auto shifted manually to smooth out the shakes I think you could get up to somepretty good mileage numbers. A person might even be able to slip one into a front driver which would be cool. The 2003T weighs about 410# so I don't think weight would be a huge problem regardless of what you put it in. The most likely place to run out of room is on the bottom. The block extends 5 inches below the crank center and the oil pan is 3 more. In some little car you might have to put a bubble in the hood but probably never would with a pickup. Anyway it sure works good and for my purposes can't be beat especially with todays fuel prices.
 
#32 ·
Conversion of kubota v2203 ->ranger

after reading about the tails of woe on diferentials after a V-2203 to ranger conversion I found a ring and pinion ratio of 3.08. it costs about $234.00 google partsbin sku is M9XF 88308. the standard ranger ring/pinion is something ;like 3.73 or greater. I am concerned about the motor mounts and the conversion plate. I need a source for the conversion plate to match my ranger v-6 2.9 L engine. I found one (CONVERSION PLATE) for the ranger 4 cylinder - are they the same for the adapter plate/$500. BTW MY RANGER IS A 1990 WITH A 5 SPEED STICK, AND 2 WHEEL DRIVE - LOTS OF MILES, LIKE ME.
 
#33 ·
The 7.5 rear end is the same as the V-6 Mustang and they have 2.73 gears, so that is where I am getting the gears to swap. I think the bell pattern is the same, but you are on your own for an adapter. I fabbed my own milling down the cast flywheel cover to 1/2 in and 1/4 in steel plate matching the bell pattern. I hen made a jig to assure proper allignment. The Kubota flywheel needs to be turned down in diameter and thickness. Simple angle brackets on the block to the stock motor mounts, the pan mods are the most time consuming.
 
#36 ·
Hey Jake, I joined this forum because I'm taking on a simular project with a V 2203-M-ES out of a L4630 Kubota tractor . I rebuilt it to use in Ghel skid but couldn't use because of starter clearance issues . I probably have a different trans. (M50D-R1 4X4 5 SPD. MANUAL in a'94 ranger w/4.0 ltr.) than you do in your '03. Your flat back adapter plate w/ O.E.M. Kubota fly wheel adapting to the Ford p. plate is the way to go. Can you pass on info about who is making adapter plates for this conversion? My A. plate would be different than yours because my plan is to drop the I.F.S. with the cross member to gain clearance for the pan as well as gain a 5" lift. Tilting the engine would not be needed. Thank's for the great pictures! What did your E.C.U. make of the conversion on an'03?
 
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