Can anyone suggest what might be wrong?
I have just changed the clutch and now I am struggling to select gears even when the engine isn't running.
I don't think it's linkage related because it seems to be difficult to select gears just pulling directly on the arms that move the forks too. I don't think I've done anything that should have an effect on the inside of the gearbox, I've removed and refitted the drive shafts and changed the fluid.
Also can anyone confirm my thinking that the clutch and concentric slave cylinder shouldn't be a factor, since the problem exists when the engine isn't running?
Edit: Strangely, after leaving it overnight, gears are selecting perfectly again and I have absolutely no idea why. I didn't change anything 😕
I suppose that should be good news but without knowing what the problem was, I'm not very satisfied. Thank you to everyone for your help.
I have only put a clutch in one front wheel drive car. It failed in front of the truck shop I worked at and that's where it was brought to. Anyway, the clutch disc exploded and put a lot of side loading on the input shaft. This car exhibit similar issues to yours. The shift lever felt terrible until the unit was removed from the machine. Maybe your input shaft isn't lined up well or there is something wrong with that bearing. Pull it out. We make mistakes 🙂
Thank you for replying 😁 In this car's case, the clutch was worn down to bare metal. Do you think maybe I could have bent the input shaft and this could cause it? I don't hear any unpleasant sounds of uneven rotation though, which I might expect from that (based on no experience at all 😜)
It seems you may have the problem "fixed" but this machine was, I think, a 2008 or so Kia. Optima? I am in the US. I looked it up, and in markets that I think Dacia would be in, it may be Magentis. There were many unpleasant sounds when this car arrived...
Anyway, it is pretty hard to bend the input shaft. Even this catastrophic failure did not do that. It destroyed the flywheel (which was expensive) and that was the big financial challenge for the owner (who was Brazilian). They did not like the price of that part, it was half of the total cost. My information was just to add to the discussion. The car left with new part and was fine.