hi, my stick shift has always shifted rather "notchily". no problems getting into the gears though, just that it "clicks" into gear rather loudly. is it a characteristic of the transmission or are there some worn bushings somewhere? tks.

roland,

Yes, there are urethane bushings on the control rods, they are inexpensive and readily available at your dealer, or possibly in the partsshop on this forum.

If you find, after going underneath the car, that the bushings are bad or gone, replace them and then ensure that the shifter is adjusted properly. The neutral gate should move side to side smoothly. If not, carefully adjust the rods where they are all in neutral at the same time.

Also, something that happened to me was a gorrilla who was working at the valet parking had trouble getting it in reverse. He had much more strength than brains, and did not lift the lever to get it in reverse. I ended up having to repair the shifter underneath the shift boot. I don't remember exactly what it involved, but it seems like I had to use a lever to pry the bar back in place it had been forced over on the large pin that moves side to side.

I'm afraid that this is just one of those mechanisms that you just have to observe what's going on and figure it out. That is sometimes a little mind bending because when you get under the car, things sometimes look backwards.

Hope this is of some help,

------------------
Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

tks larry, will check it out.

how do i go about getting access to these control rods? can it be accessed from inside the car or is it an "outside and underneath" job?

and are there supposed to be any bushings of any kind in the gearshift assembly just below the gearshift lever itself? tks.

roland,

It is, as you put it, an outside and underneath job. There are levers coming through the tunnel underneath, these are connected by rods to other levers on the side of the transmission. There are spring clips that you can push off with a screwdriver. You then pull out the rod and push out the bushing.

I would suggest going under and looking at the bushings. Wiggle them around and see if they are loose.

You probably will find no problem underneath the shift boot inside the car.

Good luck,

------------------
Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles