russ92xmsed wrote:
AHHHHH.....so could potentially go onto a 2.1 then......

Possibly but not an XM 2.1 Russ as that has an MG 'box with a cable clutch. The ML5 has a hydraulic clutch.
Who said Mazda? You're right. The project is all part of an ongoing feasibility study into replacing the old Wankel in an RX-8 with an ES9 engine. The ML5 was dismantled to see if the bellhousing from it could be used to mount either a Ford Type-9 or Rover LT77 gearbox as the RX-8 is rear wheel drive and therefore cannot be used with an ML5 'box sadly.
Yesterday we did much exploratory work with a complete ES9 and the bellhousing attached and it looks like the ES9 is going to be a very tight fit in the Mazda engine bay...
Today we gave Robyn's little 207 a badly needed service. The oil had been in there for nearly 20,000 miles and it was in an awful state. The plugs were so worn the gaps could have accommodated a double-decker bus but apart from that it was not too bad. These 20,000 mile services seem far too distant to me.
Robyn had a few instances of the engine cutting out on approach to roundabouts and so on. We had the Lexia (Pug Planet) onto it and re-initialised the engine ECU to recalibrate the auto-adaptives which mainly sets up the correct idle and overrun fuel cut-off. I'm hoping that fixed it as Robyn finds it a little scary at times and tomorrow she's off to Oxford for a University interview at Brooks. She's looking to do a nursing degree.
I've decided, after yet another drive of it yesterday, to keep the XM..