[Vwdiesel] 93EV - tranny shot?

[rOLf peCHUkas]

for anyone who's ever dealt with shift linkage on the manual tranny 
'92-'96:

what's broken is the bushing in the gate rod bracket
the white nylon (?) 'ball bearing' is no longer engaged in the bracket 
bushing and is just flopping around (hence floppy shifter)
the bushing is in 2 pieces, one end still in the bracket, one end 
around the nylon ball like a necklace

questions:
1. is it possible to fit a new bushing and re-seat the ball without 
removing linkage from the vehicle?
2. is the rubber bushing the only thing that holds the gate rod ball 
end in place?
3. on the other end, is the other nylon ball just supposed to protrude 
through the swivel head? is it only tension that keeps it centered 
there?

thanks for any info
-- 
Rolf