190e W201 shifting at higher RPMs, Starting in 1st

[joshuajack]

How many posts start out with the words, "I have a friend who was helping me work on my car."
Anyway, he is a great guy . . . on American cars. When changing my oil filter, he must have grabbed onto a cable (I think it is the Bowden Cable) and summarily unwound about 1 - 1.5 inches of the outer casing. And I mean unwound. Now the car shifts at around 4000-4400 rpm. No twisting of the white nut is going to help this.
Here is my question. If I understand correctly, the bowden cable is, in simplicity, like the cable that engages your lawnmower engine, with a cable running through an outer sheath. If there is enough slack on the total cable, can I delicately remove the unwound section and move the cable up on the linkage? Is there any way to repair this.
This car is a 1990 with other issues and I don't really need an expensive repair right now. Thanks for the help ahead of time.

[Hirnbeiss]

Well the cable is basically like that. Correct adjustment is just at the point of no slack when the throttle is at idle. Whether it's jury-riggable or not I can't say. It looks like a replacement cable is $100.