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1994 4BT in 1986 Ranger

127 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  boomersrule55
Hello,

I want to put my 1994 4bt, out of an old bread truck, into my 1986 Ford Ranger. I am new to diesel engines and even more new to engine swaps. I haven’t gotten the 2.9 out of the Ranger yet. Im looking for advice on motor mounts, exhaust, a good heavy duty suspension rebuild, and anything else I may need to know. Also I should mention I am in South Carolina and I am looking for a place to have the 4BT rebuilt top to bottom.

Thank you
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Welcome to the forum. You may have some challenges putting a 4bt into the 1st gen Ranger. Probably has been done but I suspect it will be a tight fit. First off, is the truck 2wd or4wd? The original 2.9 weighs just shy of 300 lbs. The 4bt will weight close to 750 lbs. Will need some substantial suspension upgrade. Next will be what transmission. And what differential(s). A stock 4bt will have near double the torque of the 2.9. Don't worry about HP. I assume this is not a cost limited project. Most of our guys do their own rebuilds. You could take it to Cummins. They have a shop in Charlotte NC and may have one in SC. If you are wanting more power than stock they probably wouldn't be the best choice. Do you have the engine serial number of your engine? If so, I can look up some info. Most shops will charge around $4000 for a complete long block rebuild. That does not cover items such as injection pump or turbo. If the head is cracked and needs replacement that number will go up around $1000. You'd probably want a better turbo if yours has the old H1C model. Around $800 and up for a good replacement. If the injection pump needs rebuilding that can run around $900 or more. You'll want a higher RPM governor spring in it. That part is cheap. Rebuilt injectors if needed can run around $80 each. There is nothing cheap about diesels.
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Hello,

I want to put my 1994 4bt, out of an old bread truck, into my 1986 Ford Ranger. I am new to diesel engines and even more new to engine swaps. I haven’t gotten the 2.9 out of the Ranger yet. Im looking for advice on motor mounts, exhaust, a good heavy duty suspension rebuild, and anything else I may need to know. Also I should mention I am in South Carolina and I am looking for a place to have the 4BT rebuilt top to bottom.

Thank you
YA, I would bet that would be a tight squeez ! Kubota might be a better candidate. The old Rangers are a nice little truck.
Have you looked into the vw tdi or mb diesel motors...? there seems to be a lot of support for the tdi as far as adapters, mounts and info are concerned... the mb om602 might work also, I have this motor in my 88 190D, not a powerhouse with only 90hp, but it can be bumped up by adding a turbo... the factory turbo versions are very rare and the 190d turbo sedan is a collector... I think either one of the motors would perform better paired to a 5-6 speed manual trans as they hi rpm diesels...
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