1989 635csi - Transmission not shifting up properly - I am cruising 80KM/h @ 3000RPM

[89BMW635CSI]

Hi,

I am having problems with my 1989 BMW 635csi which was in storage for approximately 5 years.
I removed it from storage, painted it, freshened up the interior, changed oil, gas pumps and did all the maintenance but didn't touch the transmission except checking its oil level which was above limit.

The problem that occurred with me today morning is that when I put it in DRIVE, it took too much pressure on the gas pedal to move the car, like if the hand brake was used while actually it wasn't.
On the highway, I used to drive it at a speed of 100km/h at 2000RPM, TODAY it was doing 3000RPM on 80km/h only!

I was confused why it was not changing gears up to keep my RPM low, I thought maybe the transmission lost oil, I checked it, the oil level was good. I tried to switch between Sport mode and back to Economy, nothing changed, the engine was running at high RPM while I was only running at 80KM/h speed.

Please advise what could be the problem?

Thanks,
Elie

[FernandoBunster]

I think you have two separate issues here. The first issue was a stuck E-brake. My guess is when you put the car into storage you engaged the emergency brake, which after so many years of non use stuck to the rotor hat.

As far as the transmission issue I think you should perform a full service on the gearbox. Drain the fluid, remove the pan and replace the filter, clean the pan, replace the pan gasket and bolts, fill the transmission, start the engine and with the
brake on run it at idle through all the gears including reverse. Now top off the fluid. Hopefully that will resolve the problem.