Thought I'd post something that recently happened to me, in case anyone finds themselves with a similar issue. About 2-1/2 years ago I swapped out the original shifter for an SVE Mongoose short throw shifter. Also replaced the bushing cup that the ball on the end of the shifter sits in when it goes into the transmission. A little over a year ago, swapped out the upper arm included with the Mongoose shifter for the trick billet stick shift arm, for a little more comfort and even shorter throw feel.
So about a month or so ago, noticed that my shifts started to feel much softer, and the past couple weeks there's been an inch or so of play in the shifter handle, most pronounced in neutral, 3rd or 4th. It never slipped out of gear or had difficulty finding any gear, but even when engaged, I could still wiggle the handle forward and back. I checked first to make sure the bolts attaching the upper arm to the shifter weren't loose, and then after researching on here it sounded like the bushing on that ball arm might be the culprit, so I ordered a new one. Some posts I read were doubtful that the bushing could cause that much play in the shifter arm, so I was hopeful that was the issue, but prepared for something worse.
Sure enough, when I opened it up, the bushing was still on the end of the arm, but the bottom part of it had worn/broken off and was sitting in the pan below the shifter, as you can see in the images. Sharing this here in case anyone has a similar issue, this could be your fix. Stupid and a small PITA to have a new one break after less than 2 years of use, but it is what it is. The replacement that broke was from LMR. For the new one, I decided to order from CJ. It looks like a slightly different material, and maybe a little more durable. Hopefully it lasts longer. I could tell right away after replacing it that the play was almost totally gone, and it felt like it did when I first swapped it out again.
So about a month or so ago, noticed that my shifts started to feel much softer, and the past couple weeks there's been an inch or so of play in the shifter handle, most pronounced in neutral, 3rd or 4th. It never slipped out of gear or had difficulty finding any gear, but even when engaged, I could still wiggle the handle forward and back. I checked first to make sure the bolts attaching the upper arm to the shifter weren't loose, and then after researching on here it sounded like the bushing on that ball arm might be the culprit, so I ordered a new one. Some posts I read were doubtful that the bushing could cause that much play in the shifter arm, so I was hopeful that was the issue, but prepared for something worse.
Sure enough, when I opened it up, the bushing was still on the end of the arm, but the bottom part of it had worn/broken off and was sitting in the pan below the shifter, as you can see in the images. Sharing this here in case anyone has a similar issue, this could be your fix. Stupid and a small PITA to have a new one break after less than 2 years of use, but it is what it is. The replacement that broke was from LMR. For the new one, I decided to order from CJ. It looks like a slightly different material, and maybe a little more durable. Hopefully it lasts longer. I could tell right away after replacing it that the play was almost totally gone, and it felt like it did when I first swapped it out again.