Shifter/Clutch Probs '89 200Q

[Brian Mole]

> All fasteners are tight, and the sprinback (per Bentley's Section 34) is
> biased too much for the right side (5th gear) side of the gate, but it
> doesn't seem to explain why the shifter is soooo sloppy, when it is
> engaged in a gate, the lever can easily be moved from side to side the
> width of an entire gate 

I (finally) solved this very problem on my coupe by changing the shift rod.
Having wasted some money changing the ball and socket, I crawled under
the car and had someone sit inside while moving the lever through the gate.
The problem was that the 'knuckle' on the end of the shift rod was rotating in the
wrong plane (as well as in the right one, if you see what I mean). A rod from
a breakers solved it (the knuckle is pinned to the rod and cannot be removed).

Brian