[glenlloyd]

I have a 92 500sel,and it stopped going into reverse a week ago. So far, I've done nothing - waiting for the right time and price. Can't really afford to pay the $6K for a rebuild (I'm told).
Help!

I have it from a very reliable and knowledgeable source that the reverse problem is due to a fault with the reverse clutch friction material being a 'wet mix friction material' that eroded faster than being worn off. He also said the replacements use a bonded paper material like all of the other frictions in the transmission.

He said once out of the car it's a few hours to complete repairs and about $100 in parts. Further, on the transmissions that he has repaired he said that he doesn't bother replacing forward frictions anymore because they've been in good shape and he can still read the part numbers stamped in the friction surface.

Take away from it what you will but I can't afford to fork over thousands when it's likely that I can repair it myself for a fraction of the expense. Besides, it's a good learning experience and that's one reason I built that big garage.

steve a