Help, I had some work performed under warranty by a local shop,
in their work oder they indicated that my shifter was not adjusted properly ( in the gate). Does anyone
A: know how to do this
B: know where I can find this information on the factory 124 CD/ROM.
It appears that I can not always find what I want on the disc ( error on my part probably).
I want some input before I put my car in the air to do this. On a side note my car has started making a popping noise from the left front when I make a left turn below 35 MPH and at approximately
45 degrees or more.???
Alan in Va

__________________
92 500E Silver 66k
82 Porsche 911SC 84K
68 Cadillac ( Gone Now )
03 Suburban Z71 200K
85 300SD 217k From Original Owner ( Dad )

When I bought my car in March, it had 99K miles on it. The shifter was loose and it was sometimes hard to engage a lower gear. It turned out to be a relatively cheap mechanical shifter problem, not a transmission problem. My local dealer replaced a shifter bushing without dropping the trans. My service receipt reads: "Shifter linkage bushing missing. Inspected and found shifter linkage bushing missing. Installed shifter linkage bushing." Total labor time was 0.5 hrs. No parts were charged.

__________________
Mark Stetson
1995 E320 Wagon Moonstone Grey/Parchment 106K mi.
2007 E63 AMG Graphite/designo 75K mi

Mine let go too, and was replaced for free (by a factory tech who drives a 500E!)

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

Shifter bushing replacement on the 300E is a piece of cake even for a DIY like myself.

But doing it on a 500E, its tight! Those boys are good doing it in the car. We did mine while the tranny was out. No problem. Don't think I would want to try it in the car. Maybe the right tools make it easy?

I'll differ that to the guys that know.

__________________
dwight

My shift handle has recently developed a little fore-aft slop. When in drive you can wiggle it back and forth maybe half the way to third. Is this bushing the culprit? I assume its located where the shifter meets the trans?

Randy
'94 E500

Yes, that's how mine was, except it was more like 2/3 of the way - enough that sometimes the lower gear didn't want to engage.

__________________
Mark Stetson
1995 E320 Wagon Moonstone Grey/Parchment 106K mi.
2007 E63 AMG Graphite/designo 75K mi

if your shifter bushings are gone you'll hear a metal clinking sound when you shift from park to drive, or just move the shifter through the gears. it will be a noisy metal clinking sound. if yours are gone it will be noticable. Mark, i saw your 500 in the shop last week. it looks great. im glad your problems were fixed with help from the forums. happy motoring.

Replaced both shift rod bushings last weekend. The rear bushing was missing and the front seemed OK but I replaced it anyway.

Pretty easy job - the bushings are very stiff so the hardest part is popping them in. I used a bolt with 2 large washers on the ends, put it through the bushing (lubed) and the mounting hole, snugged down the nut finger tight with the bushing lined up, and then slipped 2 flat blade screwdrivers (one on each side of the mounting hole on the side opposite the bushing) between the washer and the metal around the mounting hole (?!?), and then twisted the screw drivers to pull the bushing into the hole. Took me a while to come up with the idea but it worked well. On the front I unhooked the lever from the tranny b/c of the limited working space.

Shifter is nice and tight now!

Randy
'94 E500

Looks like I'm reviving a thread from last year here!

This must be a fairly common problem on the 500E. Mine was by to the stealer for a minor complaint recently, and the service manager let me know that "a bushing" (singular, not plural) in the transmission linkage needed to be replaced.

He quoted $85. I wasn't familiar with this issue at the time, but it sounded high for an externally accessible part, and I was in a hurry. Asked him if it would compromise the car to be driven without repair. He said that it was okay as was, but should be seen to shortly. Fair dinkum response; some stealerships might have talked it up as an imperative job.

Anyway, I'm not sure which one of the two bushings it might be. I certainly did notice upon inspection that the shifter is a bit loose and rattly in the gate, though, so they weren't pulling my leg that there was a problem.

My tendency is to try to do small tasks myself where possible. And if I can get to these bushings (ought to get both while at the job), I'll attempt it. I've got ramps and can bum time on a lift once in a while. Plenty of tools. Reasonably mechanically competent. Does it make sense for me to order up the bushings from the PartsShop and have a go at the job in person? Any descriptive what-where-how pointers from people who have tried this one in the past?

Or is this one of those ones where I should cough up the $85 (or whatever multiple of $85 to get both bushings done) and be glad of it?

s/b

models with that style shifter gate. Yeah, if it was me I'd give em the money and say thanks, unless you've got a good place to do it, (and some patience on a 500!). This is one of the things that's always on the checklist at my place. Just feels cheap and worn out if not fixed.

s/b

You can cough up the $85 bucks the dealer wants but if you enjoy doing a little work yourself it is a fairly easy job. Plus, the dealer is only going to do ONE of the bushings for $85 - right? If you do it you can get them both.

The bushings at the dealer are only a coupla bucks so they have an $83 labor charge. If you tax effect that, depending on your state and local taxes, etc., you'd need to earn $150 to pay for it. If it takes you 1 hour to do the work I'd say its a pretty good payday - unless you're an attorney or doctor or something

Randy
'94 E500
'00 S500

Hey, Randall, excellent point about the *real* cost of the job in pre-tax $.

Straight out of _Your Money or Your Life_, a book which was recommended to me and which I recommend to others.

It's pretty sad to reflect on two aspects of tax-effect calculations of the sort that you mention.

The first is that it really tells you how insane the governmental monster has become in the States. When pretty much half of one's take-home pay evaporates before it can be turned around on new purchases, well, that speaks for itself.

The second disquieting reflection is how few people such as yourself are actually willing and able to do the simple arithmetic involved. If they could see what professional work is really costing them in terms of the work they have to do to pay for it after taxes, there would probably be a lot more driveway DIY going on. And probably a giant tax revolt to match.

I'm not an attorney or an MD (and even both of those professions are squeezed on their takehome pay, except for certain specialist superstars). I am a nerd by training and experience, and all too frequently these days I find that it's more than worth it to me to do quasi-professional jobs on the vehicles and around the house.

That's true both in terms of reducing the amount of pretax money that I have to bring in professionally, and in terms of the quality of the job. It's really tough to find a home contractor who isn't a dishonest hack, for instance. I'd rather learn to do a job myself and do it carefully, slowly and right, with top quality materials. Same philosophy applies to keeping up the vehicles.

Not yet to the point of performing home surgery, though :-)

Anyway, I'll try the bushing job and I'll put up photographs for the board so that others can benefit and save a few bucks.

s/b

I did mine. Hot tip who ever is going to do it. Its not easy fi your doing it on your back. Also. Let the bushings soak in a cup of hot water for about 5 minutes. The bushing gets nice and soft and the installation isnt to bad after that. But the 500E is a tight squeeze. So do it when its nice and cold. Thats it.

__________________
500E Sold
2006 Mini Cooper S
Modified,pulley,injectors,suspension
2009 E350 Sport AMG package