Since the previous owner of my car installed the shifter, and it's the only thing that they installed that hasn't been replaced, I figured I'd remove it to check the install and put in Cobra Bob's shifter gaskets. Upon doing so I thought I'd see if you guys thought this amount of fluid in the shifter cavity was normal:
The plastic bushing is also missing. Is it necessary and worth getting one? I thought it may be contributing to the noise factor. Thoughts?