I have a 1982 240D manual 4 speed transmission and the reverse just stopped woking, no sound and no warning. What could be the possible problem and if the transmission needs replacement could a five speed transmission fit into this US model 240 D ?

Any information would be of great help!

Thank you.

Eric von der Werth.

It could be a linkage problem. Get under the car and see if the middle gear lever moves when the car is shifted into reverse. The rod may have come loose from the linkage or transmission lever.

The next culprit would be the reverse shift finger inside the transmission.

I believe the five speed will work but you will also need the linkage and the correct driveshaft. Expensive and hard to find.

__________________
Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

had the same sort of problem on my 79' 240d. sitting at a stop sign and suddenly ..no nutural gate , nothing , had 1 and 2... thats it! took me 45 mins. to get home in 2nd gear. to make matters worse ,I broke the shift knob off trying to find gears
The problem i found was in the shifter. it is a very simple and clever system but let something get hung in it and nothing works . in my case a penny had somehow gotton down into it and had worked it's self into the linkage who knows how long ago that happen . the shifter boot was torn when i got the car.
A $100 .00 bill will get you a rebuild kit ,a new shifter handle and linkage bushings for the whole system.{ that was from a benz dealer, you find it cheaper elsewhere} took me about 1 hour to remove the system , clean ,rebuild and reinstall.
Truely hope this might be your problem ,as i thought the worst with mine and tranny work ain't cheap!
Even if you have to drop the trans. I recomend the shifter rebuild at the same time. i was amazed at the difference it made. shifts like a new car , smooth and solid ,

ckau967@msn.com