The collar is made of aluminum and can wear over time, making it fit loosely on the shift tube that runs down to the bottom of the column. My original collar was quite loose. I ended up replacing the entire column with one out of a low-mileage truck. You would have to disassemble the upper portion of your column to determine if the collar-to-shift-tube fit is the source of the looseness. If it is, then you might be able to tighten it up by replacing just the collar. This would be only to address looseness in the directions that you move the shifter when shifting between gears. Here are a couple of videos that show my original and replacement columns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f8jF-DhMsk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZi8EhuJznE
If there is looseness in the direction toward and away from the dash, then that could possibly be related to the two plastic bushings that are on the top and bottom of the collar. Once again, you'd have to disassemble the column to investigate.
If there is looseness between the collar and the shift arm, then maybe the hole for the pin that holds the arm to the collar has become oversized.
There can also be play where the tip of the shift arm fits into the shift tube. There is a little hard rubber bushing that goes on the tip of the shift arm that is supposed to reduce rattling in this area. I have not been able to get one of those bushings to go on without splitting though. I suspect they are designed for 69-72 columns only, but I don't know for sure.
https://www.classicparts.com/1967-74...info/91%2D108/