The little spring that holds the little ball of the shifter into the control rod end on the tranny has broken off. Is there an easy way to take the shifter turret off of the extension housing, without taking the whole extension housing off? Thanks,

 

1. it's really not that big of a deal if the spring breaks, it's just for centering the shifter..

2. And no, to get it off, you gotta yank the tranny, pull of the extension housing, pop out the pin holding the ball housing, and slip the shift rod out far enough to slip on a new spring, and reassemble.. That's a big pain in the ***.. I had to do it when the tranny was waiting to go back in the car, so it wasn't so bad, but having to pull the tranny just for this would make me start drinking heavily

PaulC

 

Are you sure it's fractured? It can pivot around towards the rear of the rod, where it's hard to see from the top.
Try pushing the rod up into gear, and see it's hanging over the back of the socket