^lol. my brother had an S5 for a short time and his shifter/tranny I guess was messed up bad. not sure if it was JUST the bushing being gone but shifter would move all around in nuetral and you had to hold it in all gears else it would just pop right out with a big grind. It would drive fine if you held it there in gears so we figured it was all the way in gear so maybe the synchros were non-existent? idk. anyway, it had a blown rear rotor so he sold it but I gained a torn apart t2 motor minus the turbo and intercooler plus a t2 tranny for $100 that had come with the car! he bought the car for $400 and got a bunch of parts with it which I inherited as well. lol, luck and a good bro.

related to OP: I remember that C's short shifters were great and not any rattle. I think that was the brand anyway. they are hard to find these days I think because they are out of production.

 

Here is a link from Mazdatrix that covers why the shifters rattle, http://mazdatrix.com/shiftrat.htm

My Mazdatrix SS has been perfect from day one, zero rattle and not too tight. Some just get lucky to have no rattle.

 

Anyone with complaint about rattling short shifters should read this:

http://www.mazdatrix.com/shiftrat.htm