1996 Ford Contour (Will only work in Reverse)

My wife's aunt had the car before we got it, but a mechanic told her that it needed a new transmission. So she decided to give it to my father in law who owns his own auto body repair shop, beings a new transmission runs around $2,000+ now a days.

My father in law did some some work to it and thought we had it fixed. He said the only thing that was wrong with it, was that we had to go from 1st gear, then to 2nd, then to drive in order to drive it for right now, until he could find out why it wouldn't just go into drive.

Well two nights ago we were driving home and as I made a left hand turn, I went from 1st, to 2nd, to drive but drive wouldn't work, so I then went to 2nd, and it wouldn't work, so then I tried 1st and it wouldn't work.

Now the only way the car will move is if you put it into Reverse. It has plenty of all fluids, etc.

A friend of my father in law's who works on transmissions said he just got done rebuilding a new transmission that he would work out a deal with my father in law to give it to us for under $1,000.

However, I would like to know if anyone can think of ANY other possibilities to this issue. Especially when I don't want my father in law spending that kind of money if that isn't the issue.

Thanks to all in advance!

Possible cause, but highly unlikely.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=15175&highlight=works+reverse

Just for good reading. In case you were thinking it was the MLPS sensor.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=16609&highlight=works+reverse

My vote is the trans is done for.

I thank you very much for your response. I certainly hope that it is one of the other two things and not the transmission. Either way it will get fix, but I rather my father in law check out the others first before paying anyone for a new trans. I will update once we find something out more.

Most transmission shops will not rebuild the transmission,a pain to rebuild and it has to be right including the ground wires in the right spot.There is a plastic drum inside that transmission,it will melt if the ground wires are not in the right spot.I know a transmission that did rebuild one and wil not ever do another one,a pain to rebuild.

My father in law is going to check the Manual Lever Position Sensor tomorrow or Monday and see if that is the case.

My father in law is going to check the Manual Lever Position Sensor tomorrow or Monday and see if that is the case.

Shouldn't be. As posted in the link above, if it were the MLPS, you would have 2nd gear.

Well the link for the thread you provided me with concerning the MLPS is almost exactly how it happened to our car. It worked just fine until my father in law took it to another shop and they cleaned all the fluids out and flushed it entirely, and then he put the fluids back in. He took apart what he thought was a filter on the car (one of the pieces he took off was the MLPS) and then put it all back together. Then shortly after that is when we drove home, and when I quickly found out I could only go in reverse.

The only other two possibilities anyone that we have talked to has given is A) Transmission or B) Caliper Bolt.

I don't think it is the transmission beings the car will work just fine in Reverse.

I am just trying to find the exact cause so my wife will have a car to drive. My father in law hooked up some kind of computer thing to the car that is supposed to tell you if anything is wrong with it and it came back saying no...so it is a puzzle now.