1997 Bmw 740IL transmission problems

[Bimmer740IL1997]

Hello, I am new to the forum and looking for help. I have a 1997 Bmw 740 IL (after 1 of 97) and when I turn on I can drive in reverse but not forwards. It just spins and if it’s flat will start to move very slowly. Then after about 30 seconds bmw failsafe mode engages. I have had the fluid checked for metal and it is clean and the transmission place told me it was probably something with the clutch mechanism. Other people have said it might be the transmission control module but I’m not sure. If anyone had any ideas of what could be wrong or how I should go about figuring it out that would be fantastic.

[shogun]

moved to E38 forum

[Timm]

I would suspect the 'A' clutch pack - diagnostics will probably show an 'output speed' sensor fault, if it does that would confirm that the transmission needs to be rebuilt.

[JTL]

I would second the probability of this being a broken A-drum issue. In fact this happened to me a couple of years ago. I used this awesome video along with other things as guidance for the teardown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu54NqLob8s You may find it interesting if your gearbox is a ZF model 5hp24.