84 190D Manual Transmission - stick hard to move left - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ah-kay · #1 02-13-2010, 01:47 AM

Get round to tinker big issues with my 190D project car. I am not a transmission guy and let me explain what is the problem. I found it is very difficult to put the transmission into 1st gear. Not putting into gear per se but move the stick LEFT. It seems there a big spring stopping me from moving the stick left, once it on the left then I have no problem pushing it up to 1st or down to 2nd gear. Any idea what is the problem? Is the problem inside the tranny or outside and can a average DIY guy tackle the problem?

Otherwise the tranny is in working good.

ah-kay · #2 02-13-2010, 12:33 PM

Any one?

190 5sp is not a common car but anyone has the same experience with other manual tranny? Could it be the linkage out of alignment?

t walgamuth · #3 02-14-2010, 09:06 AM

Since there is a remote shifter on this car, it cannot be a problem in the tranny. Look at the bottom of the car and make sure the levers are not hitting anything. A misalignment of the tranny in relation to the tunnel of the car could cause fouling problems for the shifter. Also look at the shifter. There is not much to go wrong in them....lube or the shifter bushings might be to blame.

JB3 · #4 02-14-2010, 10:49 AM

I agree, most likely its an issue with the stick shift mechanism itself or bushings.

You can verify there are no problems with the tranny by going underneath, popping the linkage arms off, and manually cycling the shift arms back and forth on the case itself.

While you are down there, make sure your shift linkage bushings are all good, this can also cause problems, and these are most likely to wear out of all the components in question. The shifter mechanism relys on the transmission to provide the springyness to pop itself back out of gear. If the bushings are worn, the total travel of the transmission housing lever may not correlate to the total travel of the shifter mechanism, leaving it partially referenced in the wrong position, which may also be causing your trouble getting it to move over.

An example would be pushing an object with your finger vs pushing an object with your finger and a piece of foam between it and the object. The same force applied in both circumstances would equal less distance traveled for the object in the second scenario. The rubber bushings are not supposed to allow too much movement.

If they all move easily and without issue, and all the bushings are good, reconnect the arms, and verify there is not hangup on the arms like walgamuth said. (this is most easily done by forcing an uncooperative female to sit in the driver seat and run it through the gear pattern while you inspect from underneath)

If they are binding, it might be the issue, but its unlikely. Next step would be to look into the shifter.

The shift mechanism itself is the most amazingly complex collection of washers, springs, and spring washers. I recommend if you pull this out and disassemble it, that you take detailed pictures of how it goes together as you inspect for issues. Also, they have a tendency to fly all over creation when you first pull things apart, so make sure of each spring washer's orientation before diving in. All the springs put enough pressure on it that it is a huge PITA to put back together as well.

Im not exactly sure on the 5-speed, but on the 4-speed mechanism with reverse to the left, the reverse lockout mechanism is inside the handle shaft low, and there is a rubber bushing that frequently tears, which basically messes up the lockout and means you can move it over into reverse without pulling fully up.

There is a central shaft in this mechanism that all the shift levers are turning on, and it looks kind of like a spool valve with pegs on it to move different levers in different ways sequentially as you move through the gears. There could be some hangup in this mechanism that may not be allowing you to disengage one lever, while trying to move to another lever.

Heres a diagram of one of the lever mechanisms, don't know if it applies, but you get the idea of just how many parts one of these things has.

Like Walgamuth was saying, there is not much to go wrong in this thing, even though its complex, and if there are no other obvious causes, it could be an issue of lubrication first and foremost. I had one that was jammed with dog hair, and needed a good cleaning.

wbain5280 · #5 02-15-2010, 12:09 AM

Make sure there is ATF in the manual trans. If it leaked out, that could be the cause.

ah-kay · #6 02-16-2010, 12:38 AM

Thank you Dropnosky and Walgamuth. I took the shifter out and found a jammed dime in there plus 2 pieces of chalk. The car came with no shifter boot and there was a lot of crap inside the shifter cavity/center console. I cleaned it the best I could but never suspect there may be something jammed inside the shifter assembly.

It was easier than I thought it would be. I disconnected the 3 connecting rods underneath to the tranny and undo 4 screws inside the car and the shifter came right out. Blew all dust out, lube the shifter, re-install and now the car shifts silky smooth.