My 300d seems to be slipping out of gear and into neutral when I come to a stop. I ran a quick search and yielded no helpful results. Any ideas on why this may be happening? The trans was rebuilt by the previous owner, which I have records of, and this was done only about a year ago.

Do you mean that it fails to move when pushing the accelerator and the transmission slips, or that you have to move the shifter to re-engage drive?

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I would check your shift lever bushings. They might be rotted away which is making the shifter pop out of gear when you stop.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

I don't have to put it back into drive; it will go back into drive on it's own once I let it roll forward, and sometimes requires that I give it a little gas before it will go into gear. When I do this, if I don't ease into acceleration, it will rev just a little before catching drive.

How can I access these bushings? Is it something fairly easy to get to?

I don't know if your transmission type has a B2 piston, but that sounds like a classic B2 piston failure found on 722.xxx transmissions.


The linkages are located on the driver side of the transmission. Not sure on the 116 on how tight it is to get up there. You can get under there and see if the linkages are tight.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

I'm not sure that this makes a difference, but I didn't yet mention that this problem is very intermittent, and only happens about 2 or 3 times per drive. My drive is always 20 miles and takes hour, surface streets only, twice a day. This problem only occurs when I'm at the last 5 or 10 minutes of my drive, and never happens when the car is cold. The only time I can guarantee that it will happen is if I force the car to start in first gear, either by flooring it or manually by putting the car in 1st gear then back into drive at a stop before taking off.

Isn't there a band that can be adjusted on that model tranny?

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Does it go into reverse, when forward gears do not engage? Have you checked your fluid level, color and smell?

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Dave
1983 300D Daily Driver

It has no problem going into reverse, but goes into neutral when stopped, then back into drive when acceleration is applied.

No, as dumb as that may sound, I have to admit that I haven't checked the fluid. I guess I'll start there and report back later today.

Before I drove home and the engine was cold, I checked the trans fluid. It was way overfilled, like half way up the dipstick. So I checked it again when I got home and the engine was hot, and it was still a good 4 or so inches over the "full" line. I'm not sure whether or not the car is downshifting into 2nd at the stop, or if it's going into neutral. I was thining of turning up the idle speed on the dash to see if it changes anything, as it has made the car shift differently in the past.

These MB transmissions tend to be sensitive to fill levels. It is also very important that the transmission is good and warmed up before checking the level as I've noticed that it's very easy to overfill them if it isn't. Once you get the fluid level straightened out, it may resolve this.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Make sure you are following the proper procedure for checking the fluid level! Check the owner's manual. They all have to be checked with the engine running. Some require the transmission to be in drive, some in park and I am not sure on your car which it would be but they all require the check to be done at operating temperature...check the procedure before you conclude the tranny is overfilled.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

I have a 1969 230 with the same issue. The car is new to me and I am just beginning to look into this problem. Did the original poster resolve this?

Try dropping him a private message if he is still a member.