Didn't really see anything around so thought I'd just post this up:

At some point you may find your first gear etc getting difficult to engage... if you shake your shifter and find you can engage the gear then you may have a failed bushing in the eyelet of the shifter cable



At some point the plastic gets brittle (apparently softer then the entire plastic surround) and causes the hole with the amount of play. For a temporary measure, get a plastic wheel valve cover and cut off the closed end; make sure of course it can fit first.

In my case, i had an old bushing from when I changed my cable bushings in the engine bay to work urethane.



clean up the brass portion of the bushing (a small razor or hobby knife will do) and measure the distance from the locking pin hole to the end of the bracket the cable slips on; it's roughly about half the old shifter bushing length. Cut it with a hacksaw and file the edges flat and smooth. U can also bevel the edges do it won't chaff the bracket or pin over time.



reinsert pin and bolt everything back together. And that's it. Happy Shifting.

 

very interesting mod. I wonder if theres a polurothane bushing or anything available as a replacemnt.

 

This is a 5 speed only modification correct? The 6 speed linkage is setup differently. Didn't realize that until I took the center console off. Hmmm.....I have a hard time getting it into first and I've already got the underhood bushings installed not sure what else I can do to improve the shifting feel of the 6 speed linkage...