tranny done ?

HI everyone-
Im new to the forum and I have a question about the girlfriends 1995 540i. Its got an automatic trans and reverse just stopped working. we were stuck in the driveway thanks to this wonderful Jersey snow, I was trying to push the car while she drove in reverse(bad idea), and i noticed the wheel stopped spinning, I got in the car, and sure enough reverse was no longer working. I jacked the rear up, and had her put in in reverse, and the wheel spins very slowly, you can actually stop it with your hands. We also tried all the forward gears while i had it jacked up, and they seemed fine. Any advice or help would be gratefully appreciated.

We've been discussing 540iA transmissions recently in this thread.

Does any of this sound probable?

Originally Posted by jeepman09

HI everyone-
Im new to the forum and I have a question about the girlfriends 1995 540i. Its got an automatic trans and reverse just stopped working. we were stuck in the driveway thanks to this wonderful Jersey snow, I was trying to push the car while she drove in reverse(bad idea), and i noticed the wheel stopped spinning, I got in the car, and sure enough reverse was no longer working. I jacked the rear up, and had her put in in reverse, and the wheel spins very slowly, you can actually stop it with your hands. We also tried all the forward gears while i had it jacked up, and they seemed fine. Any advice or help would be gratefully appreciated.

How many miles? My previous 525 lost reverse at 259K miles. I wound up salvaging the car. I hope yours is an easy fix.

188,777. and thanks

I'm afraid you may have blown the reverse drum. Bad news. Here's a link to a diagnosis by transmission expert Kirt Koeller -- see if any of the thread sounds familiar. http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/159991

Dumb question but where do u check the trans fluid ?

Originally Posted by jeepman09

Dumb question but where do u check the trans fluid ?

not a dumb question. these dont have transmission dipsticks. with the car level and warm you have to open the fill plug and see if any drips out

And the fill plug is in the middle of the pan, up in a tube. With engine warm and running, remove the plug. If fluid comes out, it isn't low. If it doesn't, add fluid till it comes back out.

k thanks to everyone for the help, gonna check the fluid level tomorrow and go from there