Hi, I'm one of the success stories linked above. Since I last posted regarding this issue, I have convinced myself that reverse is now working as MB intended (though I have no other MB to compare mine to).

I was fairly intimidated upon finally looking underneath but I gritted my teeth and dove in. Getting yourself oriented is half the battle. I had the car up on ramps (wheels blocked of course, e-brake to the floor) and then crawled under the front end, not the side. Since I had not done a pressure wash ahead of time (highly recommend) I spent quite a bit of time scraping and wiping crud away. The kick down solenoid comes all the way out (remove lead first) and should be removed to a clean place. I carefully wiped clean the solenoid (make sure not to lose thin washer between tranny and solenoid). Back under and lo and behold, the lock nut is barely finger tight. I chose not to pull the bolt out (required to cut a slot for flat screwdriver) due to the still grungy state of the surrounding area so I just snugged it up with a socket, reinstalled solenoid and lead. You will lose some ATF out of the solenoid hole so be prepared.

I had two local MB mechanics (part time anyway) flat out deny the existence of this adjustment, the other started quoting prices for a rebuilt transmission. Like I've said before, this forum is worth its weight in virtual gold. Maybe my transmission won't last the year, but for now, she goes forward real nice and backwards real nice!!!

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1979 300D 275K