Worry not, all you need is a new rubber! I've had this before. If you look carefully, there is a short stubby stck coming out of the gearbox, and the bottom of the gear lever slides over this and tightens with a nut. But what you might not see, because it could have perished and worn away, is that there is a rubber sleeve that goes over the short stubby stick, and the bottom of the gear lever slides over the rubber sleeve neatly, and then is tightened up. This rubber sleeve ensures that the gear changes are nice and smooth.
When this rubber sleeve gets worn out, the gear change becomes sloppy and eventually the gear lever can come off. What often happens is that over the years, owners or mechanics keep tightening the bolt, thinking that will solve the problem, when all that is happening is that the rubber is just getting squeezed to death. Look closely for bits of rubber - sometimes it can get jammed up the bottom of the gear stick.
The solution is to simply order a new rubber sleeve from mercedes, but they can be hard to get! It is possible to fashion a substitute or temporary repair, perhaps using a suitable pice of rubber or plastic pipe, but it is a fiddly job. If you examine the bottom of the gear lever, you will see that there is a split in it, to allow it to be fitted and then tightened. But with repeated tightenings, this split is closed, which means that even if you get a new rubber, it still won't fit. So the stick needs to be fettled by carefully inserting a screwdriver into the slot, and tapping with a hammer to open it back up again. This is best done in a vice in the garage - the metal is too thick for it to be done by hand. If it is an emergency, then you just have to pack it with anything handy - like tape - anything that will just enable you to change gear until you can get to a workshop. Hope this helps.
When this rubber sleeve gets worn out, the gear change becomes sloppy and eventually the gear lever can come off. What often happens is that over the years, owners or mechanics keep tightening the bolt, thinking that will solve the problem, when all that is happening is that the rubber is just getting squeezed to death. Look closely for bits of rubber - sometimes it can get jammed up the bottom of the gear stick.
The solution is to simply order a new rubber sleeve from mercedes, but they can be hard to get! It is possible to fashion a substitute or temporary repair, perhaps using a suitable pice of rubber or plastic pipe, but it is a fiddly job. If you examine the bottom of the gear lever, you will see that there is a split in it, to allow it to be fitted and then tightened. But with repeated tightenings, this split is closed, which means that even if you get a new rubber, it still won't fit. So the stick needs to be fettled by carefully inserting a screwdriver into the slot, and tapping with a hammer to open it back up again. This is best done in a vice in the garage - the metal is too thick for it to be done by hand. If it is an emergency, then you just have to pack it with anything handy - like tape - anything that will just enable you to change gear until you can get to a workshop. Hope this helps.
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