Greg,

I have to second Larry Bible's experience. I have never seen what is inside one of these manual transmissions because I have never broken one. Now and then I succumb to temptation and fix things that are not broken, but for the most part they have to be the kinds of things that jump out at me on their own. I seem to be able to resist expending the effort needed to get one of these transmissions out and on the floor just to see what is inside.

What kind of lube are you running in that beast? I use the stuff from Redline, called Manual Transmission Lubricant, or MTL. It has some pretty good additives to make life easier on the synchros, yet protect the rest of the moving parts. I am also not guilty of trying to shift the units faster than they want to go. It seems to me each transmission/linkage design, and each car as it ages, has a natural "gait" for moving the shifter around without strain. Once you find it you also find trying to change it or force faster shifts is pretty fruitless.

Unless you have the "really big disease" I would not go in for the "really big cure." I would be inclined to settle for some lubricant additives, like transmission drugs, to deal with the symptoms and adjust my shifting to extend the useful life of the transmission as long as possible. In my experience, and apparently Larry's, that could be a long time.

Good luck, Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)