I just bought at 1995 525i, with a 6 speed manual transmission. I can only get it to go into 6th gear on a rare occassion. I've tried double clutching and that does not work. Any suggestions?

A '95 5 series with a 6-speed? I don't know of any BMW that would have had a 6-speed in the mid '90's and ceratinly not a 5'er. Are you sure about six forward speeds?

I just bought at 1995 525i, with a 6 speed manual transmission. I can only get it to go into 6th gear on a rare occassion. I've tried double clutching and that does not work. Any suggestions?
was the 6-speed an upgrade that you did or some previous owner did? as far as I know, the E34 525i came w/ 5-speed... maybe you don't have a 6th gear? the 540i had a 6-speed in it's last year of production i think...

hmmmmm, it's definately a 525i. The shifter shows 6 gears and a few times its gone into 6th gear. Plus I double checked the registration and the owners manual. It shows its a 525i and the owners manual shows a 5 speed with an optional 6 speed. Any ideas why it wont go into 6th gear most of the time?

Well if it actually has a six speed this would have to be a problem with the clutch, transmission, or shift linkage.

I've never heard of a six speed being offered as an option for an E34 525. And the BMW ETK doesn't show a six speed as being used on that car in NA or Europe. I suppose someone could have retrofitted a euro six speed to the car. A check of the Getrag part number from the driver's side of the case will tell what you actually have.

I have a confession to make. I'm a "chick" on this forum. One four apparently according to the poll in the 5 series section. I know more about cars than my husband does. Where exactly is the "Getrag part number from the driver's side of the case." .... and once i get it can someone help me out to tell me what it means?

Please don't feel that you need to aplogise for being a ""chick" on this forum". Gender has nothing to do with one's knowledge or experience.

You have to be able to get under the car to see the transmission part number. It is molded into the casing on the driver's side of the transmission. That number will tell what transmission is in the car.

Ok I think I found the number, but I'm not sure where to search. The number on the black BMW tag is WBAHD5320SGB37841. There was a smaller number on the black tag under that that was 212613. On the front end of the transmission was a rasied number in the metal that I believe was 2213349, but it was hard to read upside down. Does this help anyone to know if I have a 5 speed or if they swapped it out for a six speed? My husband swears he was able to get it into sixth gear a couple of times but I havent been able to. Can anyone help?

Edited to add, I just realized that first number was the VIN number and it matches the VIN on the car.

I make that a 5-speed based on the VIN.

That solves that mystery. Hubby must have been hallucinating. lol Someone must have put a different shifter knob on it. Thanks!

That solves that mystery. Hubby must have been hallucinating. lol Someone must have put a different shifter knob on it. Thanks!
I think that's sort of a cruel joke that a previous owner would stick a 6-speed shift knob symbol on the car just for laughs. Bare in mind, the E34 M5 did have a 6-speed. It is possible that someone took that 6-speed and "upgraded" your car. From the VIN, I agree w/ Jim, your car came from the factory w/ a 5-speed.

haha so how exactly did you get it in 6th gear on "rare occasions" i wanna try it now on mine lol

Good question.... The same one I asked my husband who claims he got it into 6th gear. Guess thats why I work on the cars and bikes and he sits in the lazyboy. :)

I suspect he pulled it down into fourth. I should have mentioned it earlier, but an easy check would be to try to shift back into sixth from fifth with the car stationary and the clutch in. If it was a six-speed transmission you'll at least feel the shifter moving into the notch. But I expect that you'll feel it come out of fifth and hit the stop.

The only E34 that came with a 6 sp from the factory was a 1995 540i
Even the e34 m5's had 5 speeds. Someone obviously liked the shift knob
or was a 6 sp wannabe. Your husband must have been dreaming.

Thanks for the info. I think my husband was dreaming.

Thanks to all who responded. Just to make sure that the previous owner(s) did not make any modifications, I took the car to the BMW dealership. It's definately a 5 speed with a 6 speed shifter.