Diesel Geo Tracker conversion
 

Wasnt real sure as to where to post this question. I want to do a 3 or 4 cylinder Kubota diesel conversion on a 2wd Tracker. My problem is the rear end ratio bei g too low geared. Are there ring and pinion sets in the 3.23-3.73 range or even a complete rear end swap from another vehicle? The 4.65s are just too low geared to reach my target of 2200 rpm @ 70 mph. Ideas and thoughts are most welcomed.

Is that even possible? Make enough power with a kubota at that rpm to go 70mph?
In factory configuration most of the 3 cylinder engines are around 1L or less and only make 10 to 12 horsepower.
Now if you turbocharged it then you would get another 10 to 20 % more horsepower and fuel economy.
I think you might need more horsepower if you want to maintain the speed limit on anything but level or down hill ground. Every 1% of grade increases power requirement around 20% to maintain your speed at 60 to 65 mph.

Well I know it will fit and the reason it wont go any faster is because of the gearing being too low. I will most likely use a v2203 which is actually a little bit of over kill in a vehicle that light. It will push a Ranger 4x4 weighing in at 4200lbs at 80+ mph and still get over 40 mpg. I just need a higher gear in this Tracker and if its not feasable Im going with a Ranger or an Explorer.

I know you can do gear swaps in ranger, there are a few different axles you can swap out from various years to get close to the desired gear with out breaking into the diff.

Since GM, the king of rebadge and parts bin engineering made the tracker there has to be rear gear out there in something else that will fit it. A few people have modded them on here but I don't know if a gear swap was among their mods.

Where you going to get that 2203 motor?

With a bit of work you can swap any live axle into any live axle car. If you have the skills to do an engine swap this shouldn't be an issue.

My Toyota came equipped with 3.73 gears. I don't know how hard it would be to cut down an axle to fit under your Tracker, but there's lots of Toys out there.

Here's a page that lists Toyota axle codes so you know what ratio you're looking at.

Kubota's current 1803 engine is a 1.8l 3-cyl rated at 28hp at 2700rpm. The V2203 is a little older, a 2.2 4-cyl rated at about 48hp, but that's the NA version. I don't think it was available factory turbo, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

Not sure where Im going to get the motor. There are suppliers in MO and TX that Ive looked at. I would like to find one locally here in Tulsa but Im not afraid to go get one within reason. My plans are to do both a Ranger 4x4 and I found a slick Tracker with a bad motor that I would like to try a 3 cylinder kubota in...if I can get the gear ratio to the 3.55 range

If no one knows of a source of gears for that tracker then swapping in another axle from something else might be be the only way to get it.

I never got to work on a kubota in the 40hp+ range, anything that big had a toyota.

Thats kinda where Im at now on this. It would be an awesome swap if it werent for the gearing being too low. I guess at this point I need to know what rearend would be the best fit for the job. Ratio needs to be in the 3.31 to 3.55 range. Could even be 3.00 and I could adjust with tire diameter.

You can get a 3.55 from an Explorer with LSD and discs. There's 3.55 as a pretty standard ratio in almost everything. 3.07 is also readily available in many vehicles. You can also go for as low as a 2.73 in Ford 8.8".

Anything that you want to put under your tracker will prob have to be shortened. There are also a few other IRS style rears with different gearing as well that will be lighter than a live axle.

I think the power of a 2.2 is prob excessive for what you need unless you plan on going 75-80 everywhere all the time. The tracker isn't terribly heavy, but there is a lot of excess weight in it that can easily be swapped for lighter parts, especially if you're not keeping the 4x4.