Wandering 280SE 4.5
 

Luckily not far, but it will creep back or forth while in park with the engine on or off. The emergency brake is taking care of my concerns for now but what could I do to get it to stay closer to where I leave it.

Likely the parking pawl is bent, I'll bet it goes click, click click as it rolls too. It isn't nearly as beefy on the 108's as it is on the later cars like a 126. Or could be the shift bushing inside the steering column if column shift. My 4.5 will only catch in park perhaps 25% of the time. I always use the hand brake with that one.

Mike: Is there a way to straighten that, or does it have to be replaced? Thanks :)

If I remember correctly, the pawl on the tranny bolted to the 4.5 is actually a pin which locate in a notch or hole. Replacement is the only option.

On the later trannies, the pawl is a level which locates in notches. Very beefy looking.

You have to take care that the car is at a dead stop before shifting into "Park". Selection of "Park" while still moving is the number one reason for damage to the pawl. Number two reason is if the car is pushed or struck while the transmission is in "Park".

Check the condition of the bushings in the shifter linkage -- there are some in the column (assuming you have a column shift) and some at the tranny end. If missing (they get hard and fall apart), the linkage will be very sloppy -- should be very tight, even as long as it is. If you have all of them loose, you may not be getting the tranny into park!

Peter

Its a floor shift unit, so the pawl is more likely. I've got a couple of transmission parts manuals MB 10 184 and MB 10 189 to try and figure it out. How would you replace the pawl?