80 shifter, and a couple of tranny questions

[George Selby]

Well, now the shifter in my 89 Audi 80 (4 cyl) has suddenly become
balky.  You either have to press it very hard, or lift up on it while in
neutral in order to select 1st or 2nd gear.  My shifter cover is torn, so I
peered through the hole, and noticed the following:  there is the housing
that bolts to the car, a plastic ring the ball rides in, and the ball
assembly attached to the actual shifter.  When I lift up on the shifter,
the plastic ring aligns with the housing, and shifting feels fine.  It
appears that this plastic ring is supposed to be attached to the housing,
and has come loose (is this correct?)  What is the repair for this little
problem, what parts are needed?  If you go under the car, and shift
directly with the rod, everything feels fine.

Also, my transmission is very noisy, seemingly from the final drive area,
but perhaps from the blown CV joint I keep putting off replacing (my last
Audi made it for 2 years on a clicking joint, but I do intend to fix this
one soon, I think I'm going to replace the halfshaft, the rear tranny
mount, and the tie rod ends and ball joints now, then do the control arm
bushings, the subframe bushings, the shocks/mounts and the tranny
replacement/repair all together if I decide to keep this car more than a
few months,)  In addition to the torn leather upper boot, while I was under
the car it appears the rubber boot on the bottom is also torn.  Are the
above two parts (upper and lower shifter boots) the only two sound barriers
in this area of the car, or is more sound insulation missing from my
car?  I know getting the rubber boot replaced will cut the noise
significantly.  If the above cheap fixes don't fix the car is replacing the
final drive in the car a feasible option?  I would be willing to give it
one shot myself before putting in a used tranny if the gear/bearing set is
obtainable for a reasonable cost. (I've gotten quotes from $350 to $1000
for a used tranny.)  I successfully rebuilt the MT in my Ford truck, but it
is a massive truck 4 speed unit (NP 435,) not very hard at all, kinda like
a big 3D puzzle.

George Selby
83 Audi Coupe GT
89 Audi 80
gselby4x4 at earthlink.net