Quick follow-up feedback:
I was able to go for a nice drive yesterday afternoon since it had warmed up a bit and the roads dried out. The shifter feels much better than it did when stock! Gear changes are precise and crisp just as they should be. Considering the minimal investment with this mod, I am thrilled. I am giving partial credit to the new
bushings, partial to the
shifter alignment procedure, and partial to
RussM05's factory shifter tune-up suggestions. I think they all played a role in making this the best possible stock shifter setup. Next up is some synthetic Redline D4 ATF fluid for the transmission; I'll report back once I get that in.