Hope this isn't too far off our topics.

I'm sorta curious about the little Ranger Pickups with a 4 Cyl Diesel engine.
Who can point me to a forum or website for info on the old buggys?

Did they come on 4X4?
Who made the Engines?

 

They came in 4X2 and 4X4 versions, the earlier N/A version used a Perkins 4.135 2.2-liter which put out about 59 hp and the later turbo version used a Mitsubishi 4D55 2.3-liter which was good for about 84 hp.

 

'The Ranger Station' has a forum for them.

They are quite rare anymore - lots were bought up secondhand and shipped overseas for mining companies.

Seems there's about one a month shows up on Ebay.

4X4 is EXCEEDINGLY rare - i have heard of 4X4 Bronco's but i have never seen one on the hoof. 4X4 tranny is not mentioned in my '83 Ranger shop manual...

83-84 had the Mazda, 85 and later were a Mitsubishi with a turbo and more power.
People who have them tend to keep 'em. There's an 85 in a neighbor's yard here in NE Arkansas but he's a bit eccentric, not interested in selling though it has five years of grass growing up around it.

I have an '83 2.2l. Bearings and gaskets are available from Clevite and Felpro but pistons and rings are trouble. I'm still looking.

old jim

 

Thanks Jim,
It was a pipe dream I had. I was going to make my own Diesel from ALgae.
I wanted a little diesel 4X4 so I could use it to pull the boats around.

Now it looks like nothing is available any longer. So with all these searches drawing blanks, and my wife's telling me I'm too old......
Thanks a lot anyway.

PS: A good search engine for Craigs list is: craiglooksplatcom
You can see the whole U.S. Inventory similarly to EBay.
Dick

 

I'm in the process of putting a Mercedes inline 5 turbodiesel into a Courier. Custom engine swaps tend to be my thing. I'm also converting it to 4x4 with a D44 front axle from a Wagoneer that I'm cutting down 7" to correct the track width.
If it doesn't exist, build it-

 

more info at these sites:

mazda diesel - General Board
and
The Ranger Station - Your Ultimate Ranger Resource