Providing the cup & ball joints are known to be lubricated and the plastic (foam) washers are intact, I wouldn't rush to do it again. As posted above, the upper washer was missing and this joint showed signs of very minor rust/discolouration. The lower joint where the washer was intact showed evidence of assembly grease after 10 years and 43K miles. When it comes to the PTFE selector shaft bushes, the shaft itself looks like stainless steel with no signs of any corrosion. Most of the grease applied to the shaft/bushes is pushed out on reassembly. I would tend to agree that this grease will attract dirt and is probably unnecessary. Any gear selection problems I experienced are down to the position of the gearbox internals, not the external selector linkage.
Plastic (foam) washer.
