Those factory plastic shift linkage ends just degrade from proximity to all that exhaust heat, ozone, and just age. Converting mine to heim joints was one of the best mods I ever did. I was tired of having to open the hood and reach down into the hot engine compartment and pop the shift rod back on. Then again, I drove mine quite hard. I went through three transmissions in the 34 years I owned it. Two in the first 5 years.