I have a 1996 FLSTF. The shifter linkage arm falls forward and backward with no resistance.
the arm attached to the shifter and rod also moves side to side (left to right) easily.
tranny stuck in first gear.

Before I go dong some exploratory surgery, I believe it could be the pawl return spring broke or the shifter rod broke off the shifter arm plate. #52 in the service manual for ‘95, ‘96 softail service manual.

The bike only has 13k miles so it has not been ridden much by the previous owner.

has anyone had this problem and how did the fix go for you?

 

I'm not sure I'm picturing this right, but it sounds like your shift pawl is not engaging due to free-play in your linkage or sift lever?
If you disconnect the linkage and try moving the shift lever on the transmission, does it move freely forward to back, in and out, or both? If so, does can you hear anything clacking around inside the transmission, or does the arm feel loose on the shaft?

One possibility is that the splines between the shift lever and shaft are stripped or that the bolt that clamps the lever to the shaft is loose. In this case, it could be as simple tightening the bolt on the base of the lever arm, or replacing the arm if the splines on the arm (not the shaft) are stripped. If the splines on the shaft are stripped, however, then you'll likely have to replace your shift pawl, which requires you to pull your gear set out (big job for such a tiny part... very manageable, but time consuming). If just the lever, hopefully there's enough room between that and your primary to take it off.

If the lever has a firm grip on the shaft and moves in and out, you may have simply lost the snap ring between the shaft and trans case. But this is not likely since those aren't easy to take off (even with correct tool) and the shift pawl should still catch (the shift lever and gears prevent it from moving far in either direction). So at this point, you would need to remove the top cover of the trans and inspect the shift pawl/shaft. If the spring broke, then hopefully it didn't run through your gears and cause any further damage. The cover is easy to remove if you haven't done that before, it's not just a few bolts and a couple wires for the neutral switch (don't worry, the wires should be non-polar), but cover can be a bit of a puzzle with the starter in the way.

 

You need to isolate the problem, first disconnect the shift rod at the lever at the transmission.

Does the transmission shift lever work properly, or does it not return to its normal centered position?

Make sure that lever is tight on the shaft on the transmission.

Make sure it is not an external linkage problem before you preform any exploratory surgery, because removing the top transmission cover is no easy task on a Softail.

Keep us posted

 

External shifter arm is tight right on splines. Shaft moves with rear shifter arm.
It moves freely forward and backward. No noise, no catching.
The arm also moves side to side and I can see the shaft move with it. No noise, no catching.

thank you

tom

 

Please use these drawings for reference.

 

It is looking like you are going to go inside and take a look...

Being that the bike is a Softail, it is a little more involved, because in order to gain access to the transmission top cover you must first remove the oil tank.

You can save yourself some aggravation when removing the oil tank by removing the rear fender extension first (item 46 in the illustration).
http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche....0JIFFY%20STAND

Once the top cover is removed inspect the shifter pawl assembly:

 

not relevant to your machine but i have had the broken pawl return spring fail on one of my machines and yes the shifter will flop around but you still could manipulate the shifter and it would finally shift. now if the pawl arm springs fail and the tranny is between gears, then i can see issue with what you say. i really haven't been into a BT tranny since i re-geared my 1974 fx.
be blessed, could have a sporty with no trap door, often wondered what the engineer was on when he did this one, long live the trap door.

 

If the shift arm simply moves back and forth and feel like it don't grab anything, it's more than likely the splines are stripped on the shift arm.

 

Thank you for your illustration.

 

Here is what I found. The shifter shaft actually broke at the weld. The previous owner must have really stomped on this thing.