Transmission does not move this 90s cavalier

my buddy wants me to replace the trasmissions in this car. he said it was driving find, put it in park went in the house came back out and the transmission did not work anymore.do you think it could be something simple,a sensor of some sort or a exturnal silnoid,. the fuild is fine in it.just stoped working…

Look at the shift linkage, I believe it enters the transaxle at the top on the driver’s side in this car. Have a friend sit inside with the engine running and a foot planted on the brake, and have them move the shifter from park to 1st and back a few times while you find / watch the linkage moving. I’d bet either the cable broke or the nut on the top came off.

No don’t replace the transmission. That sounds like a classic case of a linkage problem. Far cheaper and replacing the transmission might not take care of a linkage problem.

have already checked the linkage its fine,but there is a plug to some sort of sensor between the trany and the linkage. i think its called a ele. shift control mod., do they keep the trany from pulling in any gear?

Manual or automatic transmission?

Does the shifter move, or is it stuck? If the shifter does move, what happens when you put the shifter in gear - does the engine still rev freely?

If the shifter doesn’t move, are you stepping on the brake pedal when you want to shift?

Did you run over anything with the car that might have fouled up the linkage or electrical connections?