Thought the gear lever on our 172 was feeling a little baggy with too much play side to side, (car has 37k on the clock) so I decided to check the linkages. Under the back of the engine/box there is a linkage under a large rubber gaitor, pulled back the gaitor (not easy, but it does come over the linkage without damage) and got someone to move the gear stick slightly whilst I held onto the linkage to feel for play. Sure enough some movement in the link. There is a bolt through the link which I tightened up gradually, testing after each slight turn until all the play was gone (if you do this be careful not to over tighten, could snap bolt or lock up the link all together). Slapped on some new grease and slid the gaitor back over.
Result - a much more precise gear change and less of that baggy feeling.
Worth a look if you think your gear change is feeling less precise than it used to be.
