83 rabbit gti tranny's have self-destructing differential carrier.  Deleted
circlips lead to spider gear shaft self-machining the inside of the bell
housing.
This may cause gear engagement problems.

I have gone through 5-6 020's in my rabbit pickup.
Most of the time is differential failures.
Spider gears explode, ring or pinion gears missing teeth, diff bearings
worn, etc.

Otherwise, the drive gears and syncros hold up very well in my tranny's,
considering the relentless abuse they see.

Only other common failure mode(for me, anyway) is fifth gear carrier bolt
backing out.  This will make shifting out of gear difficult.  A little blue
locktite on perfectly clean threads solves this problem.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
> Of John Schaper
> Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2000 10:34 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Rabbit Transmission
>
>
> Problem with an 83 Rabbit 5 speed transmission.  Fluid levels OK, linkage
> adjustment OK, nylon/plastic bushings OK, clutch adjustment OK.
> Problem is
> it gets stuck in gear when shifting.  When engine off, I can go under hood
> and move linkages to shift from gear to gear. Any ideas?
>