Stranded at a car show!

[Mike Hughes]

While being directed into my assigned space at a car show in Old Town Alexandria this morning my automatic shift lever went limp - one of the 53 year old shift bushings finally gave up the ghost.  I knew the car was in a forward gear at the time because it kept creeping forward even though I had put the selector in Reverse.  When I switched off the ignition I was resigned to having to call Hagerty for a flatbed at the end of the show because one can only start a vehicle with an automatic transmission in Park or Neutral, right?

Never fear!  When the automatic shift linkage bushing lets go you may still be able to start up your Pagoda IN GEAR and drive home! (As long as you are in a forward gear, that, is.)  All that is necessary is to defeat the neutral safety switch, located on the firewall adjacent to the hood latch.  Thanks to Chuck Taylor, on his way to a different car show, for the suggestion.  ;^)

Carefully pry the cable end ball joint fitting from the lever on the switch with a flat head screwdriver, flip the lever all the way down, make sure the parking brake is firmly set and start the engine in gear.  See photos below.

In my case I found out that I was in "2" when the bush let go, so I was able to drive home in 1st and 2nd gears only (I now know that a sustained 4000 RPM in 2nd is a little over 30 MPH!)

The Alexandria Police officer and assorted onlookers assembled around my stricken Pagoda as I was under the hood were very impressed that it was able to leave under its own power.  ;^)

[Peter van Es]

Well done Mike, good advice from Chuck. Do note, shift bushings can also be temporarily repaired using a tie-wrap...

[Roman Kishi]

This happened to me before , called AAA and the guy was very knowledgeable and used an improvised wire to put things together, I was able to drive home .

[Mike Hughes]

My 230SL is back on the road.  The bushing that let go was the one at the transmission end of the shift rod. Replacement bushings and special bushing installation pliers were ordered on Tuesday and arrived on Friday.  It was a pretty straightforward ten minute job to pry off the remains of the old perished bushing and snap everything back together once the car was in the air.  The bushing pliers and spare bushings have joined my traveling tool kit.

Of future concern is the state of the unseen bushing at the shifter end of the shift rod.  I understand it can be replaced from above, but this would entail pulling up the center carpet, which I observed was well glued down when it was installed in 1989.  I also understand that it can be replaced from below, but it looks like the transmission support plate needs to be removed for access, which I suspect may turn out to be an interesting job.  Any thoughts?

[erward]

The same thing happened to me at PagodaFest 2019.  I can't figure out how you get a new bushing through the eyelet of the shift selector rod?  Is the answer about the tool that you ordered and received? If so, where did you find/order it from?

[mbzse]

Some info about the bushings in these Forum postings:
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=15173.msg105255#msg105255
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=13501.msg91738#msg91738

[erward]

Thanks to the whole group and your historical guidance.  Lil' Bennie is back on the road again - Yippee!!

[Theo]

The transmission end bushing on my 230SL automatic also decomposed and fell off. I already have the replacement bushing (seems to be the same as the bushing at the shifter end, right?). For the position of the rotating lever on the transmission, does anyone know if there is a way visually to tell what gear it is in. I want to be sure that it is in Park when installing the rod onto it. Can anyone tell me which way the rotating lever on the transmission will be pointing for it to be in Park?

[1000nutsnbolts]

Great Story. Another of life's little adventures.

[Iconic]

Mike,
Back to your original post, I've had to do the same thing to be able to start my car (move neutral safety switch to P or N).
But, speaking from experience, I understand you were able to drive home in 2nd gear, but it is also fairly easy with the car on the ground to get under there and move the transmission selector to 4th before you attempt to start and drive home. Of course, if you are under there you can use a wire or zip tie as previously mentioned to "lock" the parts together for functionality.
I learned all this within the first weeks of driving my ex-car (anthracite). One of the first things I learned about these magnificent machines.
Take care,
Mark
Theo, all you need to do is a little searching on this forum to find your answer.

[Benz Dr.]

The selector will sort of notch into park and then you won't be able to move the driveshaft. Helps if you have at least one rear wheel off of the ground.