My 84 190e 2.3 w/ 190k on it. A month ago became hard to **** into the lower gears (1st and 2nd). After a while and a stretch of 100+ degree weather the shifting became worse. It liked to pop out of 3rd gear and made a whining sound in 3rd. Two days before it finally got stuck in gear for good, I heard a clunking noise when accelerating in second and was reduced to the use of 3rd 4th and 5th gear. Sounds like a bad transmission. Is it normal for a manual trans to go out.

What was the last fluid change on the trans? Has anyone checked the fork arms for connection to the forks? They seem to work loose. The trans has had a few updates, so if necessary a factory rebuilt unit is a good idea if nothing else checks out. Also how about the clutch? Many times the trans gets blamed for clutch problems.

[This message has been edited by M.B.DOC (edited 08-30-1999).]