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Ford 4 cyl diesel in 4wd Bronco II

27K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  tjflicek 
#1 ·
I finally joined this forum so I thought I would share some pics of my 89 Bronco II 4x4 with a Ford 144 4 cylinder diesel swap. I have already had it together enough to drive about 1000 miles, I am now removing the engine to put in another identical one that I am rebuilding. When I put the current one in I didn't know its condition and of course it's worn out (burns oil, leaky rear main, etc.) Yes it is basically a tractor engine with 50 hp at the crank but even with the worn out one I was able to get 31mpg with a top speed of about 65mph. I made the bell housing myself with help from the fab shop at a steel yard for about $200 (most of that being the $100/hr cost of having stuff cut on their laser table. I used a stock Bronco II manual tranny (mitsubishi FM146) with the stock clutch/slave cylinder and the stock diesel engine flywheel. The truck was an automatic stock so I also had to convert to the 5 spd while doing the swap (actually very easy on these) Once I have the engine out I will probably add some more pics of inside the bellhousing and the clutch etc.
 

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#3 ·
My goal with this one is fuel mileage and ability to run a wmo blend so no power mods. Thought about a turbo but the exhaust manifold is tucked in behind the intake manifold so they both would have to be custom and complicated. Plus this engine would probably only take about 6-7 psi without issues so it wasn't worth it. Someday I will build one for power was thinking 6v92 powered 2wd F350...
 
#4 ·
I like it!

My goal with this one is fuel mileage and ability to run a wmo blend so no power mods. Thought about a turbo but the exhaust manifold is tucked in behind the intake manifold so they both would have to be custom and complicated. Plus this engine would probably only take about 6-7 psi without issues so it wasn't worth it. Someday I will build one for power was thinking 6v92 powered 2wd F350...
Good luck with that... That engine is 41x39x47 and has a dry weight of 2,000 pounds. :eek:
 
#7 ·
Great project. Small vehicle/ small diesel/ low budget/ experiment and see what kind of results you get. I have a Cat skid loader engine in an S-10 for my dailey driver, and my project this winter is a 3 cyl Perkins in a suzuki sidekick. I live in St. Louis Pk. We should talk sometime, PM me if you want to bounce around some ideas.
Jeff
 
#15 ·
As for the 6v92 in a F350 I am a bus mechanic (coach and school) so I am well aware of this engines power weight and size.
I don't doubt your capabilities sir, just how in the world would you fit one and more importantly the tranny into an F350. Coaches from the 70/80/90's era such as MCI's and Eagles had mostly 8v71's. A lot of transit buses used the 6v92. Both of those carried a LOT of weight (50/60 passengers). School buses that carried small children seemed to lean towards the Cummins 12v. The 6v92 just seems like overkill for a pickup.

Anyways, cool project you got going.
Dave
 
#13 ·
Sorensen, that is going to be one nice go getter!

Lonno, nice bus and what a paint job!
 
#22 ·
I will have more pics of the completed project soon I have driven it 5K miles so far with no problems. I get an honest 27 to 31 mpg depending on temperature (warming it up and -20 are hard on mileage) It starts much better in cold than I expected too, using the intake heaters I have started it not plugged in down to -3 with minimal cranking. It has some rust but in better shape than most 80's Fords in MN. The only thing I have left to do on it at this point is get the a/c hoses figured out, I will probably need to have one of them custom made.
 
#23 ·
Hey man... this is a sweet little build...

If you ever do toss the idea of making a bit more power around... I'd look into a supercharger considering your space issues with mounting a turbo... pick up an eaton m90 blower from an older gm 3.8... make a flat plate manifold for it with a tube coming off the bottom... overdrive the piss out of it and mount it where ever you can.... would be a really cheap way of getting a little pressure in that motor :)

Keep up the good work!
-Chris
 
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