85 300D

When I put the car in park, it can drift forward (or back) 4 to 6 inches. What could be the problem? Also have clunk at times when moving.

Help

thanks

Are you talking about the car moving forward or backward after the foot brake is released? If so, I hope this is normal as mine does the same thing. Several other cars I have driven with auto trannie and park position seem to drift about that much before coming to rest against a stop.

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

My car does that, and I think it's 'cause of the bad guide rod mounts...the part of the front suspension that goes from the lower control arm back to the subframe. Mine are bad enough to allow the two front wheels to move forward and back about 4 inches... If you want to check this, put a lug wrench on one of the wheel lugs and try to turn it...if you can get the whole wheel to move (without the rest of the car moving), you've found at least part of the problem.

Just a thought...good luck!

{on edit} Also, if you're not setting the parking brake when you put it in park, the car'll move like that...and IMHO it's a real bad idea to not use the parking brake. I for one don't want to trust a small gearset and a pin to keep a 4000lb car from moving.

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2001 VW Jetta TDI, 5 speed, daily driver
1991 Ford F-350, work in progress
1984 Ford F-250 4x4, 6.9l turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Previous oilburners: 1980 IH Scout, 1984 E-350, 1985 M-B 300D, 1979 M-B 300SD, 1983 M-B 300D
Spark-free since 1999

Warden,

The front wheels aren't affected by the transmission or park brake so they're free to roll. The condition of the guide rods wouldn't matter unless the front brakes were applied, right?

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

Yes I mean when parking the car rolls 4-6 inches, forward or back.

Our other AT cars drift but not that much, most only move an inch or two. I was thinking this was a sign of bad flex plate or u joints or rearend problem.

My 1982 300D does this. Most of it is the result of a loose/worn differential. It also results in a clunk when transitioning from engine power to engine braking situations. Even without the worn differential, there would be some slop inside the transmission before the park pin sets against its stop.

Easy to check differential slop. Park somewhere that you can get under the car far enough to grab the driveshaft. Set the parking brake and/or use wheel chocks, and leave the transmission in neutral. Reach under and grab the driveshaft to see how far you can rotate it back and forth.

Some people report only a few degrees of movement. Mine is about 60 degrees of free rotation! So I'm keeping my eyes open for a good differential deal these days........ At least they don't rust as fast as the rest of the car - MB diesel differentials should be available for the next 500 years at least.



Ken300D