I'm just _full_ of questions lately...

With my 87 syncro westy now running, I'm spending lots of time tracking down
small issues. The most irritating of which is shifter rattle. The linkage is
great -- the vehicle goes in and out of gear like _butter_. However, when
it's in gear (4th is the worst), the shifter is able to wobble, float,
rattle, klink, bang, and buzz around until I'm ready to gouge my eyes out
with all the straws I've stolen from Starbucks. The sound is very metallic
in nature. It almost sounds like the linkage is rubbing against something as
the vehicle vibrate. It's so loose, I can actually gently move the lever
almost all the way over to where first should be and keep the van in 4th. If
I grab the linkage under the van, it wobbles with ease. My 83 had much more
tension in it.

I've looked at the ball under the shift boot, and it _looks_ fine, but
that's about as far as I've got.  I'm sure the whole thing is exacerbated by
my drivetrain vibration problems (probably drive shaft, but certainly not
helped by the chunky Gislavad snow tires it's wearing), but I'd kind of like
to tackle one thing at time and the shifter rattle seems like the easier of
the problems.

Any ideas?

Thanks folks.

Tim King
Seattle, WA
87 Syncro Westy