1st gear shudder
 

Hi! I have a 1983 MB 240d diesel manual transmission and I love it. I am currently studying abroad in Mexico and I can't find a mechanic to fix my problem so Help appreciated. A couple of months ago my car started shaking really bad and the obvious problem was bad motor mounts. I changed that and still felt a shudder when pulling the clutch out into first gear and heard a knocking noise. The mechanic told me that it was the tranny mount. Changed that and the knocking stopped but the first gear shudder still persists.
The mechanic is now tellling me that the leaking from the motor cover ( I changed the seal and the glow plugs a couple of months ago) caused the clutch to get wet and that I will need to change the clutch (buy the whole kit). This is much more of a hefty expense than motormounts and I want to make sure that this mechanic knows what he is talking about. does this sound right to you? Thank you very much!

oil on a clutch will cause a shudder. Cheap way to fix would be to remove and clean with carb cleaner. This will not be the best but will help.

Another option, slip the clutch a bit, enough to "burn" off some oil. Again a shade tree mechanic sort of thing. The proper fix is a new disc.

Over time it may get better on its own, as long as the leak is fixed.