The 220D shifter is a very thin and slightly tapered chromed metal shaft with a black plastic ball on the top. I always marveled at the ability of that skinny shaft to stand up to repeated shifting over the 20 years I drove ours, but never had a problem. The use of ATF in the trannie certainly helps to reduce the effort to shift gears, except for the move to reverse.

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1961 190Db retired
1968 220D/8 325,000
1983 300D 164,150