01 Cabrio Shifter Linkage Question
 

Hello,

My girlfriend has an '01 Cabrio with the five-speed manual. This morning she noticed a lot of forward-back play in the shifter. I popped the hood and had her move the ****er back & forth while I watched the linkages. From what I can tell, the linkage that controls forward and back gear selection has a white gear (sproket) that moves a U-shaped piece. There seems to be an excessive amount of slack between the gear and u-shaped piece. I'm wondering if there is some type of bushing that's missing. Does anyone have any insight?

Sorry for the poor description. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark