Hello,

I am in need of some professional expertise on this one!

Here are some specifics of my car:

1995 530I with the 3.0L M60 engine, Automatic transmission

Yesterday I started up my car to take it in for emission testing. Car fired up with no issues but when I put it in reverse the shifter was sticky (binding), The binding was also apparent when shifting to forward gears however all gears worked as usual. There were no strange noises and no fluid leaks anywhere on the car.

I drove the car to the emission station and went through with no issues, however the sticking (binding) was still there. Again all gears functioned properly with no noises.
After arriving home I lifted the car on jack stands and went under the car to further investigate. I removed the shifter cable from the transmission **** rod and cycled the shifter inside the car to check cable operation. Cable seemed to function smoothly with no sticking. I then checked the transmission metal shift rod (metal bracket on side of trans where cable attaches) for proper operation through all gears. The rod appeared to be a bit sticky so I sparayed some lubricant around the seal area and cycled it again through the gears. Now the shift rod shaft cycles very smoothly with no sticking. I am a happy guy now or so I thought:

The cable was re-attached and adjusted. I then started the car and quickly noticed there is now no REVERSE.
When the car is put in PARK it appears there is a load on the motor, but the car does not move and the rear wheels are locked.
I have tried manually shifting the transmission with cable disconnected and have the same results. Numerous attempts were made re-adjusting the cable with same results.

Has anyone out there had this issue before?

Any and all help on this would be greatly appreciated as I am lost on this one.


Best Regards,


Terry