Hi Ron, its possible your gearbox is suffering from the infamous 3/4 gear hub break.. happened to me 2 years ago and ultimately led to a transaxle rebuild.

Check out the site:  http://volksweb.relitech.com/091trans.htm

Ken
87GL

-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Maxseiner [mailto:THE_STINKSTER@PRODIGY.NET]
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2003 1:17 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Stuck in Third Gear - New Transaxle Question

On the way home from work on Friday my van suddenly
became stuck in third gear.  I tried to get it out of
third but it would not move.  I drove home in third
and to my surprise came out of third gear when I had
to stop at a light.  Later it became stuck in third
again and has been there ever since.  Searching the
archives seems to indicate a new transaxle is in my
immediate future.

I was hoping that I could get few questions answered
about this process.
1) I'm 99% sure I need a new transaxle.  I would hate
to replace this if it was something simple.  Could it
be anything else?  I have checked the shift linkage
and it is not binding anywhere.

2) This is a long shot but is there anyway that I can
get it working for a short period of time so I can get
it to a repair shop.  Add oil?  A well placed whack
with a hammer?

3) While replacing the transaxle what else should be
done?  Here is my list.  Clutch, rear seal, throw-out
bearing.  Anything else?  CV joints need to be replace
and this seems like a good time.

4) Can I do this myself.  The procedure looks straight
forward but I'm not sure if I have the tools.  There
are a few things that I'm worried about.  How high do
you need to raise the van to remove the transaxle.
Given a standard floor jack is it possible to lift and
position the new transaxle? Any other specialize tools?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Ron Maxseiner
1985 GL Van 'Stinky Pete'