Will not Shift out of 2nd gear

[Rhine]

I am the owner of a 1991 300se that I bought in Oct. 1990. It has always had a little hesitancy to shift to Drive. The dealer always told us that it was normal until the car warmed up. Since my exwife always drove this car and on my rare instances of driving it, I did not persue the issue. Recently, I was driving the car and after waiting at a stop light, the car would not accelerate out of 2nd Gear. The car now has 201000 miles. I do not know the history during the last 7 yeaqrs. She lived in a town that did not have a MB dealer and she had it serviced at a shop that specilizes in Mercedes. I have read threads looking for similiar problems and have not found a common problem. Even though the car still has a beautiful exterior and interior, I do not want to incur the expense of a dealer fix. It is not a daily driver. I can do my own repairs, but I do not have a manual for this car. Any ideas?

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[Durbo20vT]

check the transmission fluid. back when i had my 420sel, this would happen when the trans fluid was low. filling it to proper levels temporarily cured the issue.

[Rhine]

Thanks for your reply. I checked and changed the transmission fluid. There was no change in the shifting. I did more research and my symton seem to match those of a faulty b2 piston. I have found a few sites that describe the replacement of this piston. Moreover, they describe a procedure for its replacement while the transmission is still on the car. I am now trying to decide if I want to undertake this project. Again, thanks for your response.