This is a hardened taper pin holding the fork to the cross shaft.
The tapered pin holding the release fork to the cross shaft often cracks or breaks.
Trial fitment of the pin in the hole in
If the pin wobbles in the hole, it may be 'tapped' into a better fit.
This helps overcome the frequent failure of this pin.
It's recommend drilling through the fork, through the shaft and out the other side and installing a hardened roll pin as a back up to the taper pin 158777X.
Failure in this area can lead to the fork not being positively located and will prevent disengagement of the clutch.
This can be the reason for clutch drag - caused by part of the slave cylinder push rod travel being taken up by movement between the fork and the cross shaft. When carrying out any work involving the removal of the engine, gearbox or both from the car, the opportunity should be taken to replace the pin while access to it is easy, whether it appears to need replacing or not.
Correct seating of the pin in the cross shaft is important. Ensure that any broken parts of the pin are removed from the fork and shaft. Also, the taper angle of the pin should correspond to that in the hole in the cross shaft. the cross shaft without the presence of the release fork will bring to light any irregularities in the two components.
If the amount of tapping required is excessive, replacement of the clutch cross shaft or the tapered pin may be necessary.