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I have been having three months of slave cylinder problems--part of the problem is I have air in the system, part of the problem is I have the wrong slave cylinder, I have the 82 model slave, not 83.
Anyway its getting so bad that I have to use my Karate on the Gear shift every time I shift, i literally have to whack it hard to get functionality . I have 2nd gear and a tenuous 50 percent shot at 3rd gear from second.
I have bled the system several times. Anyway thinking hte problem was with the Linkages, I readjusted them. Now I just have R 3 and 4 and thats how I am driving the car.

Part of the problem is I need to do the old two person Bleed on the slave but my daughter/wife wont cooperate.

Sometimes I have a snaeaking supicion the transmission is Bad. Is this possible? I can shift into FIRST gear, but it acts like this is Neutral.'

I know I have the wrong slave, but I dont think this is a factor , since I offset it by 15 degrees and used the bootom bolt to hold it in position with a washer, so I am getting normal slave play.

All 4 gears work. !st gear worked until last nite.

Please help. Do I need a new tranny or is it slave/linkage/ air related?
83 240D Manual-can't shift-- I lost 1st gear--HELP

Hello Carrameow,

I´m quite familiar with manual transmissions and I beleive that I can help in diagnosing Your problem. Lets start with some questions.

1) When You are in 2nd gear does it feel like the car wants to creep forward or not?

2) When shifting into 3rd is it only hard to engage or do You also have a scraping noise?

3) Do You have any gear jump-out problems when driving?

4) What gears were usable before You readjusted the linkage?

Best regards,

Mikael Westerberg
1984 500 SEL
Vanersborg, Sweden

Thank you very much . Here are my answers. thanks again

1) When You are in 2nd gear does it feel like the car wants to creep forward or not? No

2) When shifting into 3rd is it only hard to engage or do You also have a scraping noise? No

3) Do You have any gear jump-out problems when driving? No

4) What gears were usable before You readjusted the linkage?
1,2,3,4 R but i really had to "whack" and jiggle the shifter to get it to cooperate

Hmm,

This sounds a bit strange.

Are the gear engagement easier now after You adjusted the linkage?

Before the adjustment did You have to wahck and jiggle with all the gear or were some of them worse?

Is it difficult to shift also If Youre standing still with the car and without the engine running (static shifts)? Any difference in static shifts after the adjustment?

Best regards,

Mikael

Try double clutching, even into first. That is put in neutral, let the clutch out then in, then try and put in first. Try that a couple of times.

You could try reverse bleeding the clutch. I've done that by putting one end of a hose on the slave bleeder screw and the other end above the reservour and pour brake fluid into it.

This sounds a bit strange.

Are the gear engagement easier now after You adjusted the linkage? I can shift to 2 easily now and after a jiggle and a whack, 3 and 4

Before the adjustment did You have to wahck and jiggle with all the gear or were some of them worse?
It just started happening some day. Thats why I started messing around with the adjustments.

Is it difficult to shift also If Youre standing still with the car and without the engine running (static shifts)? Any difference in static shifts after the adjustment?

Even static shifts are stiff.

Best regards,

Rich

Since there is no "creep" when in gear and standing still and also the static shift are hard I think that there´s nothing wrong with the slave cylinder. Also since there is no scraping noise etc when You shift I beleive that the sychronisers are OK.

I also assumes that the shifter itself returns to the neutral position between 3rd and 4th as it should (push the shift lever to the left and release it). If this works the internal springs of the transmission should be OK.

My guess from Your description is that:

1) The shift adjustments is incorrect and needs to be redone (I´m afraid I dont know the correct procedure).

2) There is something in the rods/ linkage between the shifter and the transmission that blocks the correct function.

The best You can do is to put the car on a hoist and have a pal shift between the different gears while You look at how the linkage/ rods moves when they are operated and keep an eye on if there is something blocking them. Once You got that sorted out You can readjust the linkage. A common place for debris to end up is also below the shifter itself. Lift the rubber or leather boot and shift around in the different gears to see if there is something down there preventing the movement of the shifter.

I hope someone else on this forum can help You with the adjustment procedure.

Good luck,

Mikael

It was as someone said--two of the arms were loose on the transmission--I tightened up the allen bolts--everything works great. I really appreciate everybody's help---