I recently dismantled, cleaned and lubed my linkage and, while still firm, the clean-up made a world of difference. Adjusted each step of the way and the throttle response and shift points improved as well. If the specs are not on the shop manual CD, they are available from the alldata.com subscription. Used tranny fluid (sparingly) to lube having read that in the owners' manual or alldata, I thnk. You definitely don't want to use a lubricant (like wd-40) that gathers dirt. Hope this helps.

__________________
Earl McLain
'02 C230 Kompressor
'89 560 SEL "Frau BlueCar" (retired April 2004)