Wisdom needed: 5th gear neutral

["John F Sandhoff" <sandhoff@csus.edu>]

I need some words of wisdom: We all know of the 5 speed's weakness
for the split 5th gear coming apart and creating a second neutral. My
question is: is it dangerous to drive the car long distances in this
condition? If one were to stay at a reasonable speed in 4th, it's
about the same as driving a 1600 (5% slower at same RPM, 3500 revs
is about 65).  But is there anything internal that's going to come apart?
Is it best to fix the gear before driving far?

-- John
     John F Sandhoff   sandhoff@csus.edu   Sacramento, CA