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Thank you everyone for all of your helpful suggestions. I wanted to finish this story so that everyone might learn from it.
In case you don't recall, my '89 240 DL with 5 speed would not shift into first or second gears without pushing really hard on the shift lever. I am the original owner, the car has been babied all of its 157K miles, the drivetrain is original and there are no noises at all from the transmission.
I adjusted the clutch, changed the trans fluid and checked the shifter bolts for tightness. None of this helped the shifting problem.
On my way to work, the day before Thanksgiving the shifter completely snapped. It was attached but not connected to anything inside the transmission. The car jammed itself in 4th gear(or so it seemed) so I just kept motoring to work. The two traffic lights were a little challenging but I made it to work (not a pretty smell though). I rolled it over to a repair shop next to my work. To make a long story short the mechanic found a broken/bent clip in the shifter, bent it back and wired it together for reinforcement. He had to drop the transmission cross member to get at it. The whole job only cost 1 hour of labor ($55). I was thrilled and the car shifts beautifully once again.
Thanks again for all of your advice.
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