I have had a rattle for the last year that I could not find for the life of me....One day while driving I reach over to the glove box and unintentionally nudge the gear shifter to the side and the rattle stops. Got me thinking, so I did an MB shop search and it seems as though the consensus was the shift linkage bushing. There are two but only the only directly below the shifter was worn. Well actually there was maybe 10% of the bushing just barely stuck in there. Total free play for metal to metal contact.

New bushing was a bear to get in but I managed by trimming the lip on one side just enough for it to be forced into the hole with needle nose pliers and a surgeons touch of skill.

It is definitely a job where the "right" tool would have been worth a purchase.

Put the tools away, jumped in and went for a drive and there was blissfully no rattle/buzzing noise of metal to metal contact from the shifter area. My sanity is back

My 300 has the exact same rattle, i ordered the new bushing just yesterday.

What is nice is having all that slop removed from the shifter movement. My wagon didn't rattle, but there was massive slop.
I must say, changing that bushing is one of the more frustrating jobs on these cars I have ever done! I don't think anything has ever frustrated me more {not including smoke of course. }

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

It's a rather easy install......anyone should be able to do it.

No sweat with a little heat.........does the trick easy as pie.

I don't have a rattle but mine is really sloppy, same issue or something else?

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1981 300TD
2005 C55
2004 E500
1999 ML430
1992 400E
1998 C43
2001 SL500
1988 300SEL
1986 190E 16V
1991 190E 2.6

Same issue. Mine wasn't rattling either, just had total-play in it. Use heat to get the bushing where it's supposed to go, that was the shortcut to getting it in place fast.

That bushing can be completely gone and still without a rattle.

I agree: it's a frustrating job until you put the shift bracket in vice. Now you have two hands and the bushing goes in quite easily.

After trimming the lip, I would suggest checking it from time to time; it will probably fall out.

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Don't Chrome them; polish them

My SD had a terrible rattle, and I replaced the lower bushing, like others I had to trim one side. Was not about to take it out of the car, an SD has a "plate" bolted under the drive shaft. Made it difficult to even reach. Put the shifter in "1" to get the other end toward the front.

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83 SD

84 CD

I want to know how you used heat to make this install "as easy as pie".

Also, state the vehicle for which you installed the bushings.

Please state your procedure in detail..........before I conclude that you're trolling..........yet again.

I have the ole "fork in spaghetti" shifter thing going on as well.. I have new bushings in my tool box waiting to installed. Everytime I go over a brick road at slow speeds it sounds like chains from under the car.

I just put a new tool in the rental pool...........specifically designed to install those bushings..........painlessly.

Having done this job, that tool is worth every penny to BUY!! Having it in the tool rental program is a no brainer. Brian, where was this last year.....

**edit**
BTW, you KNOW he was trolling as he is way above doing his own auto repair. Ask him, he has stated that enough times......

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Austin just e-mailed me with the new tool. It's really a neat tool. Check it out:




Yes, I, do know..........

how much do those go for?

$10. if you rent it.........