Viewing: i'm saying hello, hello!

badbusdriver · 07-12-2009, 11:29 PM

i'm not sure this webite forum can help, but i'll give it a go!. i dont actually have a car at the moment, and indeed i'm on here to ask a question that is not even about a car!. i am thinking about buying a 2003 ford ranger pickup for my window cleaning buisness, but after doing some research, i discovered that they have a history of fuel injection/glow plug problems, which apparently can be very expensive to fix.

now these ford rangers are not actually ford's(!), but a mazda, made in a mazda plant in thailand i believe, and share the same 2.5 turbo diesel engine as used in the mazda bongo mpv camper type thing. anyway, i got thinking that maybe an engine transplant would be feasable, seeing as the ranger is a relatively simple beast mechanically, and the one i'm looking at is the 4x2 version. i typed in engine swap on google, this site came up!.

so for those who are still awake, the bottom line is, does anyone out there know if it is, or would be, feasable to put a 2.4 turbo diesel transit engine in the ranger?, i would be interested in any other suggestions (sensible ones anyway!, this would be a working vehicle). in case anyone is wondering why i dont just get a different pickup with a more reliable engine, the answer is because the ford has just what i need (other than a duff engine!).

i have a family, so being able to carry them could come in handy, but a double cab pickup wouldnt have a big enough load bay, the ford is a supercab, which has a biggish load bay, but also a couple of small, but usable seats in the back, and the ranger also has a bigger payload than its rivals, and as i will be lugging round 800+ litres of water, that is important. any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

**turbonutter69** · 08-12-2009, 10:35 AM

Welcome mate.

***waynne*** · 08-12-2009, 11:21 AM

An engine swap sounds like your perfect answer. I am not familiar with trucks I can't really comment on whether the swap is suitable but I do think you stand a pretty good chance of pulling it off.

The engine bay is nice and large so you have plenty of room to work in. You will have to swap out the gearbox and wiring loom and ECU as well to get the new engine working.

Are you doing the work yourself or will you be taking it into a garage?

***waynne*** · 08-12-2009, 11:22 AM

Oh, Hello and welcome to TorqueCars, good to meet you. I hope you enjoy our forum, we have a few members from Scotland on here!

**Country Bumpkin** · 08-12-2009, 06:57 PM

Hi and welcome,

I can't help you directly with your question but the chap who owns the business behind ours, has a Bongo van and uses it daily. I know for a fact that he has never had any mechanical problems with it and that includes the fuel side of things too. His engine is sound.

badbusdriver · 08-12-2009, 08:08 PM

thanks for the responses guys. waynne, no i wouldnt be doing the swap myself, i wish i had the mechanical ability to take on something like that, but i dont!. that, i suppose, could be another stumbling block, finding a local mechanic who could do it!?. country bumpkin, that is good to hear about the bongo you know of, i should really bear in mind that most people who post reviews do it because they have had problems, those that dont tend not to bother, so there is probably heaps of rangers out there that havent given their owners any grief (i hope!). i was hoping to get a test drive this afternoon, but they only had the one set of trade plates, which were otherwise occupied, doh!.