>  How hard is the
> replacement of these parts? Can I do it all from inside the bus? Or do I
> need to crawl under her to do it?  Can the stick-shift lever be removed from
> inside the bus, as it looks like I will need to slip the parts on it?

You have to work both inside and underneath the bus.
You can purchase a renewal kit from VW. The whole is less than the sum
of the parts.(Polo mint manufacturers). From what I remember the price
shock was at how cheap it all was. As repair projects go this is a
straight foreward job, keep the old parts in place so you can see how
the kit go back on. Use a suitable lubrication. After you have installed
your kit then you will have to adjust the linkage position, but you can
probably do that blindfold by now!

regards, Martin Kennelly