Problems with first and second gear on a manual C180 W202

[Welsh Dan]

Hi.
I've got a W202 C180 which is a 1995 manual. I've noticed that the gearbox seems to be worn, but recently its now started sticking in second and first gear i.e. even when I go to change gear, it is stuck in first or second and you have to move the gearstick with some force to get it out of gear.
We've checked the bushings and the linkage, but it appears to be internal. The car has done 173k, so i'm guessing that its worn. Any idea what the problem is going to be tho, and a rough price on parts?

Thanks

Dan

 

[PJH]

If it is a bent selector I'd suspect it would be hard to put into gear as well as taking it out of gear. Is that the case ?
Do manuals have a 'gear-box' service at around 110,000 miles ?

 

[Welsh Dan]

No problems putting it into gear whatsoever, but when it is in first and second gear the gearstick is really loose and there is loads of play in it

 

[PhilL]

No problems putting it into gear whatsoever, but when it is in first and second gear the gearstick is really loose and there is loads of play in it

Mines a '99 C200 Estate bought 3 years ago and always had problems with the manual box. It was replaced under warranty soon after I bought it but new box not much better.

The problem is not getting out of gear, but getting into first, and then from first to second. Both gears are very difficult to engage, especially when cold. I suspected linkage adjustment but had it checked twice with no improvement.

Any suggestions would be welcome as it is currently one of the worst gearboxes I have had.

 

[Dieselman]

Check the clutch adjustment. If the clutch is dragging at all the baulk rings wont mesh so the selector will stick in or out or both.

 

[Welsh Dan]

but if it was the clutch, would that not affect all of the other gears as well? I'm guessing its the 'box rather than the clutch as it only sticks in 1st and 2nd, and seems to be lots of play in the gearstick?

 

[jaymanek]

are you sure you have checked the gear selector bushes. These are like little rubber rings where the selector rod meets the box.. This would explain the loosness. Also the selector rods can be adjusted, try that..
If not could be the synchro mesh's?

Jay

 

[Welsh Dan]

That was a mercedes specialist who checked the bushes and linkages, so i'm going on what they said. The seemed to think that it was internal tho . However, its being looked at by a gearbox specialist on thursday, who seems to think that it is still a problem with the linkages.
What other 'boxes fit the W202 C180, as it may be easier/cheaper just to replace the whole box than recondition the existing one if it is an internal problem?

 

[Welsh Dan]

ttt

 

[MainMan]

The problem is not getting out of gear, but getting into first, and then from first to second. Both gears are very difficult to engage, especially when cold. I suspected linkage adjustment but had it checked twice with no improvement.
.

This may be a red herring, but I have a 2001 6-speed manual and it had the same problems. Baulky in first - also it occasionally jumped out of first presumably because it hadn't engaged properly. The first to second change was also exceedingly unpleasant. Dealers were as helpful as usual until one of them found a service bulletin that said that overfilling the box caused this problem. My car had 1500ml of oil in it and it should have had 1200ml. Draining 300ml effected an immediate big improvement. I then decided to change the oil for fully synthetic of the same spec (Redline MTL) and this has also improved matters further. It's now got a pretty reasonable gear change. The only complaint is that the first to second change doesn't like to be rushed especially when cold or it crunches slightly. But I've had a lot of cars that were like this. The other thing is that the box improves with use. Merc manual boxes just don't work proerly until they've done 10k miles or so. That's why the road testers hate them - they're always driving new cars.

 

[Welsh Dan]

Well just to update, the guy didn't get chance to look at it yesterday, but its now sticking in reverse as well. However, if i move the gearstick really gently, it seems to change gear and disengage ok. More to follow on monday.......