I'm afraid this is probably a story of my own stupid fault, but any advice would be appreciated...

My 1995 965 had sat for quite a long time without being used. When I went to start moving it, it was a little sluggish moving off, presumably as the brakes had siezed slightly. I was being a bit impatient and thought I'd just run the rust off by moving it a bit until it got going. Big mistake; I think I over-torqued the gearbox and suddenly I ended up with no forward gears.

Starting from cold and putting the box in to a forward gear (D, L, 3 or switching to W) yields no movement. Applying a little power causes the dashboard arrow and WSE lights to flash (overheating the fluid?). Reverse is still fine. I've not had chance to get the OBD codes from it yet; I'll look tomorrow. There was certainly enough ATF in there a few months ago, but I didn't check before I stormed off cursing today. The box was a reconn about 20k ago (after it got pumped full of coolant).

So I reckon I've probably striped a clutch pack or brake band (do the NW30s have brake bands?). The car's not worth enough to justify a new box, and re-conn. would be a push; probably only viable if I remove the box myself.

After I've checked the level and condition of the ATF, are there any more things I should check before pulling the box?

If I go ahead with removing it, and given that with the budget I've got the car is almost scrap if it needs a £500 reconn, is there anything I can conceivably do myself to narrow-down or fix the problem? I've tackled most jobs in the past, but I've no experience with auto boxes.

Does anyone know enough about these boxes to tell me what component I've likely broken so that I can mention it when getting a quote?

Many thanks for your help (and yes, I'm aware I'm a clown for breaking it)

Jon