C300Sport

I would love a short shift kit as well. It's funny that Mercedes markets it as a short throw shifter... I will keep my eyes open for a shift kit though.

mikestyle

yess a short shifter would be mint. anyone know how to replace the shift knob? and what knob will work?

C300Sport

There are a few replacement knobs out there if you google it. I wouldn't want the shifter to be any shorter than stock, as it is pretty well placed now. I would just like a shift kit to adjust the linkage to shift with a shorter throw.

mikestyle

ya ok that what i wanted to say. so when you going to bring it to the dealer?

C300Sport

I have about 900 miles now. I have a complimentary service between 1K-3K so it will probably be a couple weeks...hard to schedule. From what I have heard, I am thinking this is simply the nature of the beast, but maybe there are things that can be adjusted, or a change of trans oil. I will let everyone know what they say...should be funny...

mikestyle

alright man

Derspeed

That's what I thought when I first test drove one. Maybe the throws are long due to it being a 6spd. From what I remember, our 6spd viper had short throws (but a really long stick).

C300Sport

And they say it's not the length of the stick, it's how you throw it....sorry, couldn't resist

Distalero

I don't know if this is worth starting another thread on, but it is associated with standard transmissions: does anybody know if the foot position for using a clutch and accelerator wears more on the carpeting? I've worn a hole in aftermarket carpets before. I know we have carpets, but who's put an additional carpet in to take the abuse?

When I drive an automatic I don't poise my right foot on it's heel like I do with clutch/accelerator action, or not as often, anyhow. Not exactly a burning question for the ages, but I just wondered.

C300Sport

I have tried an extra floor mat and the smaller stick on pads(maybe 8"x8") in the past. I finally gave up a few years back and let it wear down until it looked bad and then just bought a new set from the dealer. It was actually quite nice to have new floormats in a five year old car.

Derspeed

I always keep mine covered with good rubber mats. The carpet mats in my 2003 Passat looks new. The carpet in my W204 seems to be very tough compared to carpet in previous cars.

Distalero

Good to know.

C300Sport

Great news for my shift quality. The dealer pulled my transmission, lubed the input shaft splines, reinstalled the trans, bled the system, etc. Anyhow, the shift quality is better than it has ever been...even better than new. I wouldn't say it is the best shifting manual trans I have ever driven, but I now have no complaints and will certainly enjoy driving my car more now!!
I am hoping things stay the same and don't degrade with a few thousand miles so we will see.
Now just waiting for the short shift kit to come out....

Derspeed

Good God, they just resolved for you? I am glad you got it worked out.

C300Sport

Yeah, I basically had to jump up on the SA desk and start screaming I wanted my damn transmission fixed. The problem is that it "would go into gear"...I guess as long as you can shove it in there, they were of the opinion that was good enough for them.
It is sad but I had to ride with the tech and look him in the eye and ask if he could honestly look me in the eyes and tell me that is how my shifter is supposed to feel.
Anyhow, it was a pain, but I am finally happy with things now.

BEEPbeepZIPtang

a little off topic but does anyone know if there is a clutch stop available for the 6M? or if anyone knows the diameter on the threading I can find the correct sized elevator bolt and make one that way.

biggest night and day difference you'll see in daily manual driving for about 10 bucks.

Distalero

So how many miles do you have on your car?

The fact that what amounts to a bunch of extra attention on a fairly new car made a noticeable difference for you would seem to mean that there was something wrong, although maybe fixable. This is good to know, for anyone out there who has the same problem. Question is, though, was it just your car, or is there a design/maintenance problem lurking in there.

Me, I get 1st to 2nd "notchy" on a really seldom basis, but it is there at times. I still look at it as me zoning out and miss shifting, because it happens so seldom, but on the other hand, if there is a tendency for this to increase then maybe this is something for all us MT types to keep in the back of our minds.

snarlingchicken

It took more than a year for them to crack? Sweet Jesus, the dealerships in Atlanta must be brutal. Good to hear it worked out though.

gc30

Hi there, I've got 18,500 km on my W204 6 spd and I've noticed it being notchy mainly when it's cold, and once it warms up and especially after some highway driving, it's quite smooth.

What I'm having issue is, is with the clutch, does anyone get any clutch shudder? especially when it's colder out, like when you let go of the clutch the car feels like it hops? but when i disengage, rev it a bit and engage it, it's back to normal????

thanks!

charliele729

I think that notchyness in the clutch is normal during cold start up because of the fluid not being up to temp. My S2K does the same thing when it cold. Almost all transmission are rough when it cold.

gc30

hhmm yeah i can see that but sometimes even at operating temperature, when it's cold, it will do the same, but I guess that's related since in the end, it's cold and all

but my last car i felt that (not a mercedes), there was a TSB and it was something they had to replace in the clutch

Derspeed

C300Sport, you are a better man than me for waiting that long. I probably would have driven the car through the front window of the dealership, tossed 'em the keys and said, "It's your problem now." Nah, I wouldn't. Wouldn't you love to see the looks on their faces though?

OT, but I like how the car pulls in 4th gear. How about you guys?

C300Sport

I tend to like third the best. I find myself shifting from third to sixth quite often now as I like the sound with the x-pipe running up to about 45 MPH then just easing into 6th.

I have just over 10K now. The problem really was that a tech would drive the car and just say "hey, seems to be fine to me" even if the shift "quality" was crap. It really took me just getting totally pissed off and loud and rude to have it looked into...then it was "oh yeah, this does suck, let's pull the trans and fix it"

I have been to both RBM and MB of Buckhead in Atlanta and although the treat me really well, they don't seem to want to believe anything can be wrong with the "bulletproof" W204. It really takes an informed and persistant consumer to make them stand and deliver(or an obvious issue I suppose)

Derspeed

Third is good, but a bit short in my opinion. To me, it seems like 4th keeps you in a good spot in the powerband for quite a while.

bf109

It might be worthwhile to try synthetic gear oil, as it's far less subject to viscosity issues/temperature than conventional oils if the gearbox isn't already filled with it. If it isn't, I'd check to see who has an equivalent and utilize that. Has made a huge difference in my past manual transmission cars ('85 supercharged 'stang, '02 E46, '05 Ford GT).