Gearstick selector rod and selector joint issue

[agisthos]

I have never had the E30 selector rod out so ask you guys this question; is the selector rod joint supposed to swing/pivot on its pin where it joins to the selector rod (gearbox end)? Or is it fixed fairly tight in position on that pin?

Why I am asking this? My rod linkages are gone with a lot of play. So rather than replace stock, I opted for a dual shear DSSR rod. As long as you also have the 89+ selector joint, an aftermarket DSSR rod can be used in any E30.
But then I found there is no aftermarket rod for the 323i, being an uncommon model.

But a few manufacturers do adjustable DSSR rods. Garagistic does one. So does CAE Racing.

I bought this CAE racing one. Its a work of art.
https://cae-racing.de/Shift-Rod-S

shift-rod-s_2.jpg

It comes with its own billet machined selector joint, as shown above. Awesome I thought.
But when I got it, the selector joint has no play/movement whatsoever on its pin. Its so tight fitting in that fork it may as well be a continuous piece of steel bar that runs to the tip.
I just don't know if this is ok. The gear stick needs to swing and pivot on its pin of course, but maybe the gearbox end with the joint is ok to be fixed in position?

If the selector joint is supposed to swing/pivot then this one needs to be taken out and a 1/4mm machined off each side.

[agisthos]

According to CAE racing, the selector joint does not need to move, it can be very tight in the fork. OK.

Their supplied selector joint is also exactly 10mm shorter than stock. So when using the old selector rod to measure length during install, just add 10mm extra, and the CAE adjustable rod will then be set at same length as before.