1998-2000 ford ranger tdi swap

Currently in progress

The issue with the ford rangers tach is that it takes it from a crankshaft position sensor. Its common to see people drill a hole into the transmission bellhousing to get the signal so factory gauges work but I wanted to try something different. Im still in the process but im hoping to make a bolt in board that replaces the ford servo with my own. This board will also receive a tach signal that the alh's ecu natively puts out. This has a few advantages, first its simpler. There's no drilling holes into a one piece transmission, it also allows my goal of removing the ford pcm completely. Secondly, my biggest thing, I can see exactly what the ecu sees, My issue with duel sensors is that you never know what the ecu is reading. If i cant get the engine to start and im spinning the starter, i can look to see if the rpm needle moves at all. The third issue, isnt a big one but the ford cluster has a sweep of 0-6k rpm, which doesn't line up with the alh, since one of my goals is an oem look, i can program my servo to use that whole sweep and get a new face reprinted with the proper redline and max rpm. 

Currently in progress

Currently working on a bolt in alh gas pedal that maintains the ford oem pedal position. From the fords ive seen at the junkyard, they all have a spot welded bracket that bolts the gas pedal on, it also acts as its pivot point. I would like to make a 3d print that bolts into that one hole and gives you a easy way to align a drillbit so you can drill the spotwelds out. From there the holes that will be left will be about 3/8 of an inch and Id like to use thoes holes to bolt in the alh pedal.  My adaptor that im dreaming of will actually index in the holes, then will be a small backlate that sits in the engine bay, that holds threads for the through holes of the front side adaptor. This will also seal the firewall back up. From there the front side adaptor will have the bolt spacing for the alh pedal. Now ive seen a couple diffrent pedals floating around and hopefully i choose the right one, i bought one off ebay for a 2002 jetta tdi, it has a bolt on pedal. The other style has the pedal contained within the sensor assembly somehow. To remove the jetta pedal off the sensor you will need a bearing remover as to not damage the fragile sensor. Once its off, i plan on having a new pedal printed out of 316 stainless that ill drill and ream (1:10 taper) so it bolts straight into the jetta sensor. The pedal will also look like the ford oem and sit in the ford oem spot, my only thing im unsure of is if i can retain the factory pivot position. Im afraid with my adaptor it will push it out 1/2in, if thats the case then maybe the backside adaptor will hold the treads for the alh pedal so the front side adaptor can be slimmer.

Currently waiting for either a truck or to go to the junkyard and cut a portion of the firewall out. 

Waiting for parts

The alh will self feed from a fuel tank however I am concerned that it will have an issue with the super cab ranger, it is a distance and I plan on running a coolant heated fuel filter and water separator. im unsure at this point if that poses issues however, I also want to run a hydronic heater and possibly a 1k diesel heater for a roof top tent setup in the future. Which that requires a bunch of holes in the tank and maybe i can make the stock fuel pump work but id like to make a block off plate like I did for the B2200 with the perfect amount of fittings on it. The trick will be to be able to swap the ford oem fuel sensor onto this and possible add a baffle setup for the main feed. 

Currently in progress

The ford oem radio bezel has no issues for the swap, i just like making things difficult. My priority is to make a clean oem build so having a random switch panel somewhere isnt ideal. I 3D scanned a bezel from the junkyard and im working with a contact on fiverr to remodel it with extra buttons and a direct bolt in for my sony head unit. I personally struggle with reverse engineering these complex shapes. The plan is to use 3 fog light switches and 3D print a new face so i can use them for what i need. This wont be the only extra switches, im currently working on a hidden solution with a explorer upperhead console but these switches id like to control my fog lights, rear locker, and an aux switch thats probably going to control a 30 amp circuit in the rear of the cab. This will most likely be a 12v fridge.  

Currently not being worked on,.

The engine mounts is something im looking forward to, I plan on pulling the old drivetrain out of the ranger and 3d scanning it all in sections. This combined with scans of the m50dr1hd and the built alh will allow me to do all the hard work in solidworks. This will also allow me to see what clearance issues I will run into with the oil cooler and oil pan. When I do the lower engine bay scans I plan on doing another set with the suspension at full compression to hopefully get a good idea of things that need to be clearanced. I know most just put a 2in lift however I do think that will hurt my mpg more then id like. 

Currently not being worked on,.

I havent put too much thought into this other than I understand I need to do it well. Hoping to use the CAD models to produce a neatly mounted and traced wiring harness.

Currently not being worked on,.

The current plan is to 3D scan the front end of the truck and find room for a good sized intercooler. The tentative plan is to make mounts that sandwich the front bumper mounts and the front bumper as I assume that mount is universal between all rangers. Ideally I want to use an oem intercooler if there is a perfect one out there or ill use something that will be mass produced so if it fails I can just bolt a new one in. 

Currently not being worked on,.

To maintain the OEM look im after im torn between two options. Replace the oem ford fuse box completely or add a secondary fuse box. Im leaning more toward replacing completely as I will have a fair amount of extra circuits to add. (Heated seats, rear drawer system, amp, lights, ect)

Currently not being worked on,.

This will be more of a project on its own, but ive done something similar to my 03 Silverado. My goal is to make use of the rear portion of the cab, currently if you want to put stuff back there like tools, it just gets tossed on the uneven floor. Then when it comes time to use thoes tools you have to unload everything on top of them, then when it comes time to put the tools back they just get tossed in. My plan is to raise the floor up about a foot, creating a flat platform to put stuff on, like camping gear or groceries, then under the platform will hold a set of drawers. There will be one for each door and in the middle I might had a hole to hold a trash can like i did with my silverado. It really helps keep things clean having a dedicated trash can in a truck. The current plan is to 3d scan the rear cab and model everything based on that. Using the front seat bolts and rear seat bolts it should be pretty secure aswell. Then underneath the drawers themself, Im going to try 3d printing a fitted sub enclosure so I can run a 10in sub. Then on the other side of the cab ill have a good spot for wiring, ill just want to make sure its easy to clean under and the electrical is protected.

Currently not being worked on,.

Considering the ALH is very efficient, it wont need a large radiator. Current plan is to use a 3.0 or maybe a 4.0 radiator to cool the engine. Im personally just going to replace what ever the truck has with a new one as these degrade over time. Ive also been told that the coolant ford uses is pretty bad for the alh but I have no sources to back that up. With that said I will need some kind of baffle and electric fan setup so unless I find something on ebay Ill probably design something for that. Im not sure if im going to run a Dakota digital fan controller or add it to one of my own modules. 

Currently not being worked on,.

Im building this truck to be a long term vehicle for me, I also live in Minnesota, our winters are not as bad as Antarctica but id like to have as good of a chance as possible to start my truck no matter what. I also dream of taking this across the usa and northern Canada so im planning for the worst.  Lastly I also dont want to stand around waiting for heat or having the engine overcool due to the larger radiator, so a hydronic heater is what I think can fix this all. It will supply heat to the coolant by burning diesel, this will make the block heat up as if I was running a block heater, it will give me instant heat when I get into the truck, and will add heat to the engine on super cold days. I should note, I live in an apartment and there is plenty of circumstances that ill have the truck parked and not have access to a plug to use a block heater.

So for this, ill end up 3D scanning something to make a mount for this and running the coolant hoses in some fashion.