'97 SL manual shifter loose and floppy but still got home

Was in the middle of a turn when the shifter on my manual '97 SL suddenly lost function entirely. It flops around 3rd/4th and won't move toward any other gear. Imagine starting from a stop in 4th gear. You learn to do it in traffic. I eventually got home, gradually getting up to 60 mph and avoiding stops wherever possible. This car has 85,000 miles. What kind of repair/cost would this entail -- ballpark, anyone?

Same thing happend to me in 3rd gear. Had to run a few stop sign to get home but nobody saw. Anyway i found a piece on ebay that will reconnect the shift cables to the shifter http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/91-03-Saturn-Transmission-Shift-Cable-Bushing-Shifter_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33736QQihZ004QQ itemZ140132993956QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
It was really easy to intall and its only 20 bucks. GM wants you to buy new shift cables to get that part for 200 bucks so hope it helps. Good Luck

It's a common 90s S-series problem I discovered... when I googled the problem while looking for a fix for my 97 SL.

I didn't buy the neato fix noted by awpwplow. I did buy a schedule 5 bolt, nut and washers set in case I decide to drill out the end oif the shifter and use those to replace the broken part.

But... Gorilla tape. Seriously. It's five dollars a roll, but didn't take much to wrap wround the end of the shiter, the cable, etc., and has served well for months, now. I checked the other day, and it's looking hunky dory, still. And if it does give, well, I have the bolt, etc... and more Gorilla tape (by the makers of Gorilla glue. The tape's a better product overall than the glue is. MUCH better. Think "duct tape from the planet Krypton."

*heh*

the cable the connects to that has a cap on it they break all the time just fixed one they sell a help kit for that problem at the dealer its like 40$