MBZ 123 Manual Trans Stuck in 1st Gear !

[BeachnCruz]

My Mercedes 123 240D 4-spd manual transmission is stuck in first gear!
I started the car.....put it in reverse.....backed out of my driveway....shifted the manual trans to 1st gear and now the shifter lever in the car won't allow it into any other gear. I can't even get it into neutral ! Help! I don't know anything about the linkage. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Jim.......

[ctaylor738]

Can you get under the car and get at the linkage on the driver's side of the trans?

If the car is in 1, the rear lever should be back and the other two at about 1 o'clock. If this is not the case, you may be in two gears at once. The fix is to move all the levers by hand to the 1 o'clock position (neutral). Have someone push the clutch in when you try to move them.

Then see if you can get the front and rear levers (3-4 gear and 1-2 gear) to go to the 11 and 2 o'clock positions (separately). Put them back at 1 and move the middle lever to 2 o'clock (reverse).

If this all works, then the trans is not the problem. Most likely you have a worn-out linkage that is not shifting the transmission correctly. Take a close look at the bushings on the linkage and on the trans levers. If one of those has fallen out, that could cause this problem.

[sokoloff]

I bet you've got a 90% chance that you need to replace the bushings in the linkage. Will set you back about five bucks. While you're under there, check the front end of the transmission where the linkages connect to the transmission. There is an allen bolt recessed in the holes that can come loose when exposed to undue stress like from when the bushings are worn out or missing.

BTDT with my manual transmission.

Len
'83 240D 342,000 miles original owner