So I drained out the 40 year old stinky gunk that was serving as the oil for the transmission and found a small metal part in the bottom of the case. Any votes for what it is?

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1975 Mercedes 240d (Daily driver, town)
1980 Toyota HJ45 (diesel) (Daily Driver, Farm Implement)

I honestly don't know what that is. It is beat up for sure. Parking pawl maybe?

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1991 F250 super-cab 7.3 IDI. (rebuilt by me) Banks Sidewinder turbo, hydroboost brakes, new IP and injectors.
2003 S430 - 107K
1983 300SD - Tanoshii - mostly restored ~400K+.
1983 300SD - Good interior. Engine finally tamed ~250K.
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Is it brass looking on one side and silver on the other? If so I vote for part of bushing ( # 34 maybe ) or a thrust washer ( 10 for example ) . In any event, this trans _must_ come apart pretty soon as driving will cause damage.

Based on some recent threads...the tip of the dipstick??

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He has a 4-speed...

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1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

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D'oh.

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1979 300D 040 Black on Black - 1985 300D Maaco job (sadly sprayed over 199 Black Pearl Metallic) on Palamino

http://i.imgur.com/LslW733.jpg

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Left to Right - UberWasser, Iridium, Stuttgart-->Seattle,, mannys9130

Visit the W123 page on iFixit for over 70 helpful DIY guides!

That is what I was thinking!!

It also looks like there is a ball in it??

how does the car shift?

my guess would be a piece of a detent interlock mechanism. This pic is from a later transmission showing a part that could break up and be that piece, but I don't see a similar detent design piece in your diagrams, but if not a piece of spring, maybe a steel lining to an aluminum part or something.

It looks like steel, just to make sure, this is a piece of steel, not stained brass or aluminum right?

next question if it is, would be how in the heck that happened.
Id probably pull the side cover and check out the detent system, just to see if anything obvious is missing or broken

again in a later transmission, but the aluminum shift forks have steel movement surfaces pressed in that would correspond with the below spring, and do not show up in the diagrams as separate parts. Could be a piece like that.

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It's a paperweight now.

looks to me like two steel pieces riveted to each other before a violent unimaginable death.
Nothing in the diagrams matches an assembly like that.

I suppose its also possible its a piece of a tool

Whatever it is, I probably would be disassembling the gearbox to be sure. Or I wouldn't be leaving town in the car, strickly within towing distance of home

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That is part of the cage inside a ball bearing. It keeps the balls evenly spaced in the bearing.

Paul

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84 500 SEL (307,xxx miles)

I missed the rivet.

Yep it is a ball bearing cage. In this case, STOP DRIVING NOW. The cage keeps the balls evenly spaced around the bearing, when the balls all end up on one side, the races move off center allowing balls to fall out. Once this occurs the gears barely mesh / balls fall between the gears. The case can split / wheels lock solid if metal gets between the gears. STOP DRIVING NOW, IT WILL GO BOOM ! ! ! !

It most closely resembles a bearing cage.

I agree, driving with this damaged could be catastrophic..


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It is all steal or at lest magnetic.

There is a rivet in the center.

Also when I drained the tranny I noticed a lot of brass dust, but I really didn't think to worry about that. The rear seal also leaks.

Stop driving the car right now?

I was planing on driving 400 miles tomorrow. Currently the car is my daily driver, but I will admit that shifting is not the best. I just shift slow and let it slide into gear on its own. I just put a new clutch/slave in and it breaks my heart to know I have to pull tranny again.

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1975 Mercedes 240d (Daily driver, town)
1980 Toyota HJ45 (diesel) (Daily Driver, Farm Implement)

I was really hoping I'd hear the same thing a mechanic told me when I found a few pieces of metal (looked like part of a clutch pack) in the bottom of my tractor's transmission....."If it's running, it oveously doesn't need it, so keep running it." I guess that could also match his opinion that "It's cheaper to buy a tractor at action then fix one."

D'oh, I really like the 240d.

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1975 Mercedes 240d (Daily driver, town)
1980 Toyota HJ45 (diesel) (Daily Driver, Farm Implement)