'88 Samuria.....OK....got the shifter out, but can only see tiny pieces of what probably WAS the bolt end. What do I do now?

If it grinds when trying to shift, it is the synchronizers. Rebuild. If it pops out of gear. there is a plastic part at the top of the transmission that wears out. It fits around the ball of the shifter. It is two pieces. You'll have to remove the floor plate and pull it up to access the bolts to remove the shifter and replace those plastic pieces.

where shifter linkage bolts to the tranny has come loose-have one person move shifter in car while you watch the end of the cable that connects to the tranny-there should be a nut that holds it on- the car is probably in park so move the shifter to park and tighten it down- cheers Denny

sounds like it has jumped. take the rubber off the shifter has a ball with a cover push the ball down and turn it to the left now pull the shifter out look in side you will see 3 peaces one of then is not in line with the others put all 3 in the middle and put your shifter back in hope this helps

The shifter linkage has a two piece plastic / nylon bushing at either end of the gear shift tube that goes from the gear shift lever to the transmission. As the bushes wear through normal usage the gear shift becomes sloppy. The bushes at the gear shift lever end usually wear out first.
You may have to drop the exhaust pipe to access the underside of the gear lever as there is not a lot of space to work in above the exhaust.
To replace, remove the securing nut and through bolt where the underside of the gear lever U section attaches to the tube. Pull down the tube and the worn bits of the bush will come out. Place the new bushes in either side of the tube and put tube end back between the U section. Replace the through bolt and nut. If still a little sloppy, you may have to do the transmission end bushes as well.

the shifter knob should have a cover that has a little bolt in it holding it on if it does not then it unscrews and sometimes they are screwed on counterclockwise look for tiny plastic piece covering the bolt on the shifter

I just finished repairing my 2007 - 300 for the same issue. Pulled in the garage.. went to go out , and could not get the shifter out of park. Researched this issue online.. First step is to remove the right side plastic holder next to the shifter. There is a small hole that has a pink plastic piece. Push this in while moving the shift lever out of park. If the shift lever does not move, then the other "pink thingy" piece that is located inside the shifter box has most likely broken. There is a tiny spring that attachs to this pink piece ( probably a $0.50 piece of poorly engineered product ) that breaks off. See the following link on how to fix this problem. I drilled a small hole in the pink plastic piece where the small hook broke off.. then attached a cotter pin through the hole , and fastened the spring to that... should not have any further problems.. this link demonstrates how to remove the shifter box. The entire process took me roughly 2 hrs to complete... saved myself hundreds of repair dollars!!http://www.300cforums.com/forums/tech-tips-review/61876-tech-tip-review-park-lock-out-mechanism-installation.html

It sounds like it is your neutral control switch. It cost $90.99 at autozone. I just replaced mine, it is under the hood, on the drivers side. Two connector wires, and one to the starter.

If you look at it while someone goes through the gears, you should be able to see the problem. It should move as the gear box is engaging. You can look it up at autozone.com to get a look at it.

I had the same problem over a year and a half ago. I went to the closest Saturn dealership to get the replacement plastic piece. Turned out that the ENTIRE shift cable assembly was the smallest part that could be purchased to repair this. The cable assembly was over $200 at that time. I opted to forgo the ridiculous expense for this tiny little plastic part. True story: with a little heavy safety wire and a large washer I jury rigged the washer to hold the end of the shift cable in the fitting at the bottom of the shift stick. The washer acts as a keeper and the wire, wrapped in a basket around the back side keeps everything together. It still shifts reliably, a little looser than when it was new, but I saved $200 in parts (99% of which weren't broken) and probably a couple of hours of labor at least. One end of the cable assembly has to be attached to the transmission by the way and is not easily accessible. Sounds hokey but it really worked, still works!

It doesnt need rebuilding. The shifter sheet that the gear shifter sits on is worn out or not even there which allows the shifter not to operate properly.

You can order a poly one from vendors like Lowrangeoffroad, Trail Tough, Petroworks, and some others.

That part is only serviced with the sift arm. Source: 20 years at a Ford Dealer as a Technician.