New to Mercedes. Car was given to me. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

Does it have a manual transmission?

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'86 300E 5 speed
'71 Triumph TR6
'46 Cushman Scooter
'41 Ford 9N tractor

I just went through that night mare. I assume you checked the trans fluid level. It's the valve body that controls the shifting. You can start by draining the trans fluid, taking off the cover pan(6 bolts)on the bottom of the trans and replacing the filter(3 screws). I got one from ********.com releatively inexpensive.

I had this problem when I bought my 91 300D. Problem was a broken plastic gear on the governor in the transmission. It can be replaced without removing the trans. Is is located behind a large round cover at the left rear side of the transmission case. The gear was only $2.00 and change at the dealer. You also need to remove the pan and look for any pieces of the gear. Believe it or not, I never found the other half of the gear. I guess it is still in there somewhere.
Paul

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84 500 SEL (307,xxx miles)

Thanks for the responses. I'm really not familiar with that so I will have it looked at. Thanks.