Take a close look at the mechanism and you will see. The piece that holds the bushing at the transmission end is a flat steel plate that is mounted on the gear selector shaft that goes into the transmission. The flat carrier piece has a bolt near the selector shaft that pinches it fast in place. Loosen that bolt and you can work the carrier off the shaft. It's not the most pleasant job in the world but certainly easier than pulling the transmission.

Once you have the carrier off, you can have it at the ready near your kitchen range as you're boiling water to soften the shifter bushing. Drop the bushing in the near-boiling water and fish it out after a few minutes -- you should find it will be quite pliable at that point.