next up:
removing the gear shift shaft and arm:
remove the 12mm locking bolt and the arm - shown in the picture above
then remove the gear shift shaft bolt, spring and a ball as shown in the snippet from the FSM below:
will take an actual picture in the morning and attach here
keep the bolt, washer, spring and ball safe in a small bag

once the shaft is removed, the seal #3 in the picture, can be tapped using a small hammer and a flathead driver - tapping evenly around the seal.