Well, I could not assemble the tools needed to remove the line, cut it and flare the end, then reassemble. Not that it was complicated, but it was the 4th of July weekend and there was nothing around that was open. So, I drove it 300 miles home. I only crunched gears once, trying to downshift from 4th to 3rd. The "trick" was to find what speed the car runs at while idling in each gear, then only run up to that speed in the lower gear, then shift. This was consistently "crunch free" and worked beautifully. Of course most of the driving was in 4th gear, and the method of getting to 4th gear resulted in lugging the engine a bit, but all worked out fine. I am busy at work and have not had time to tackle the job. I may end up replacing the line and the slave cylinder since I was unable to budge the nut (which looks a little worn, and seems to be a 12 mm nut). But it looks like cutting the line an removing the cylinder is the way I will go. Jim

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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)