1989 e150 not shifting
 

Hello forum glad to find you all, I have a e150 wasnt running wouldnt start, ended up getting towed and i was not present when it was towed. Its a automatic and 302 if that matters. Picked it up from the tow yard wouldnt run put in a new map sensor and collant sensor and started back fine again but wouldnt shift out of first gear. So thats my issue tranny worked fine before towing is it possible they towed it wrong? they are a reputible towing company or did the dissconnect the linkage or is there something else it could be?

Me thinks we need a little more info like, how did you decide to change the MAP and coolant sensors?
Were they the correct ones for that vehicle?
If the vehicle wasn't towed from the rear, it is a good possibility the trans suffered some.
If they didn't have access to the key and they towed it from the front they would have had to disconnect the trans linkage to get it out of park. There is a whole lot of unanswered questions and it's difficult to offer any suggestions not knowing all the info.

well the engine codes it threw out were for the map and coolant sensors, replaced them both....Im assuming theyre the correct ones ill have to double check I was given the right ones i suppose....that being said if they werent that could affect it not shifting out of first?

I wasnt present when the vehicle was towed and they didnt have any key if they dissconnected the linkage would it still shift into reverse? im trying to give them the benefit of the doubt that theyve been ina business a long time and wouldnt ruin a vehicle. not sure what to do from here any things would be a help

So we are all on the same page, I would suggest you contact the towing co and find exactly what they did and how it was towed.
Have you tried starting it in D2 and see if it will shift alright from there?

I appreciate the help.....called them of course they said it was towed correctly what else would they say, tried the lowest gear and same results it will go in reverse and stay in first not shifting, is there any sensors that could effect it? also just for the record if i was given the wrong map sensor would it have cleared the check engine light which it did and would the wrong map sensor affect the shifting, any ideas will help

Not saying that it was, but if it was towed incorrectly, it could have burnt out the front pump (assuming that this is similar to older models) . The rear pump works reverse and first, the other one, second and third. But I would check the linkage first.

when u say check the linkage where is that located am i checking too see if they disconnected it or what? when u say older model its a 1989 and if its the front pump is that something i can access without opening the tranny

Pretty sure there is no rear pump. The last one I saw with that was the GM Powerglide.
Did you try the shift lever in D2 ,not low, which is 1st gear. I believe D2 will start it in second gear.
Did you look under the vehicle at the trans for any plugs that may have come off or loose. Does the speedometer show the correct speed when going forward?
Check if the speed sensor is plugged in properly.

no luck on that yes the speedometer works fine

It would seem the only thing left to do now is to run some pressure tests on the trans to confirm if there is a pump problem. Did you get any other codes that may have been for the trans. If the solenoid pack isn't getting the correct signals or responding to them could be a possibility. There are a few other things that should be checked like the (manual lever position switch on the side of the trans).
Make sure the linkage is correctly positioning the MLPS.