So the other day I was driving her and noticed over a smooth bump the shift lever rising up! I thought what the heck and sure enough i felt the movement myself. It continued to shift fine though and I turned around and went home. At home I pulled the shifter up and sure enough it rises up when I pull it. Clearly it cant be the linkage but is it? What would cause this?
Your thoughts are appreciated it!

 

The shift lever itself is firmly fixed to the guide piece, which rides on a short tube in the shifter box. That tube is held by hard rubber/soft plastic bushings, if one failed or fell out the tube could move up and down quite a bit (the bushings are oval and vertically aligned)

Edit: assuming C2. I don't know how the C4 driveshaft runs and is supported.

 

There is a large circlip which holds the tube in place. If that circlip were to fail, the entire shifter assembly could rise up. See pics 4 and 5 in FD Motorsports' DIY instructions here:
https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9ea...=1592766543978

 

Yes.. that certainly will explain why it feels like the entire assembly rises up!!! Thank you to both!!!!

 

Danny,
Get the car in the air, remove the 5,674 10mm nuts that hold the tunnel cover in place, and then peel down the big rubber boot around the shifter setup. I’m sure the issue will be very obvious (guide tube no longer in place, failed bushings, etc.).



Andreas

 

Just to close the loop... this $16 plastic bushing part failed and broke along with the clip... pretty crazy. Thanks again guys!