Ok. Had another go today. First I dismantled the clutch and placed the friction plate over the gbox input shaft, just in case ... Dropped on a treat. Centred the clutch with pushrod and socket. Then tried again after removing the guide studs. Got the splines engaged but the box would not fit fully. About a centimetre short before resistance set in. It occurs that the push rod spring and cap at the other end of the push rod may be providing sufficient resistance? Should I try to draw on the box using the bolts at the dowels? Should the actuating rod , spring, bellows etc be removed before fitting the gear box?
I could of course remove the push rod and try a temp fit without it and see if the box fits. May do that after finishing this cuppa and a few biccies.
Meantime, any thoughts from the oracle?
I'm not the oracle but have you fully backed off the clutch release arm adjuster?
My box fitted back on with the pushrod / release bearing / clutch arm etc in place. It took a bit of rubber mallet persuasion to seat it onto the dowels but this was only a bit of stickiness. I wouldn't try to draw it on using the bolts - a good chance of breaking something if there's something amiss..