roland,

Yes, there are urethane bushings on the control rods, they are inexpensive and readily available at your dealer, or possibly in the partsshop on this forum.

If you find, after going underneath the car, that the bushings are bad or gone, replace them and then ensure that the shifter is adjusted properly. The neutral gate should move side to side smoothly. If not, carefully adjust the rods where they are all in neutral at the same time.

Also, something that happened to me was a gorrilla who was working at the valet parking had trouble getting it in reverse. He had much more strength than brains, and did not lift the lever to get it in reverse. I ended up having to repair the shifter underneath the shift boot. I don't remember exactly what it involved, but it seems like I had to use a lever to pry the bar back in place it had been forced over on the large pin that moves side to side.

I'm afraid that this is just one of those mechanisms that you just have to observe what's going on and figure it out. That is sometimes a little mind bending because when you get under the car, things sometimes look backwards.

Hope this is of some help,

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles