Everyday is a school day!
But ….. as we now know this is an original part, I wonder why it fouls the gear mechanism?
The other type is adjustable and the centre bush needs to be set a very specific distance from the gear selector end. The illustration above does looks if the left end, in this view, may be longer than the right, although I appreciate this is only a drawing.
So, is it actually symmetrical? If not, could it have been fitted the wrong way round, causing it to interfere with the gear selector?
More questions than answers. Sorry.
B…..