He gave me some codes which does not make sense to me but I know there are some of the guys on the Forum who have done conversions with Fords.
This is what he is asking:
Hi Pieter
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I think I need the belhousing from an M15MX-D, for the Essex. I believe that was what was fitted to the 3.0 versions of the Mazda B. However, as we never had that option in this country, I'm using internet info, which isn,t necessarily correct...
My truck has the RM15MX-D gearbox. I have a service manual for the UK variants, that includes a schematic of the M15... and R15... versions of the 'box. They appear very similar, and my hope is that the earlier M... bellhousing would simply bolt on to my R... version.
The schematics don't give exact dimensions, so I can't be 100% sure.
What I also need to verify is do the 3.0 and 2.5TD versions of the M15MX-D 'box use the same input (first motion) shafts. If yes, then good. If no, then bad, as I'd have to start messing around changing the internals too.
Also, if they do use the same input shafts, then do they also use the same clutch release arm and bearing? Again, if yes, then I can use my UK versions. If not, then that's an additional complication.
At the moment, I'm trying to verify the 2 points above.
Do you know, roughly speaking, how much it'd be to ship a bellhousing from SA to the UK? As you pointed out, I'm sure it would be prohibitively expensive to move an entire gearbox, though that would certainly simplify things! I imagine a bellhousing alone would be cheaper, but the cost is still a factor in the viability of this project.
Thanks again,
