When my van refused to shift last Monday on the way to friend's place I
assumed the culprit was my aging shift linkage.  I borrowed a vehicle on
Thursday and commuted half an hour to my friends over the weekend and
surveyed the entire linkage finding only minor play in the rear section
where it connects to the transmission.

Scratching my head and playing with the shifter while parked with the
engine off I realized I could shift with the engine off okay but that
when the engine was running I had trouble and that the clutch pedal felt
a bit funny/weak.

I remembered the clutch is hydraulic and fed by the master cylinder.  On
checking the reservoir was dry...I still had great brakes but no
clutch!!!!   Doah!  It must be set up to feed the brakes first so you
can stop if the level is low.

It took about two pints and still has air in the lines but it worked
almost immediately with only minor problems down shifting into first
unless I come to a complete stop and pump the clutch pedal a couple
times.  I need to bleed the system now.

In any case, after a week of worrying about finding or buying linkage
parts that are hard to find it seems my linkage only really needs a good
greasing and to find some similar boots to swap into the rear section in
addition to bleeding the system.

I bought disc pads last year and had a mechanic put them in the front
and I'm guessing he didn't add fluid or bleed the system (not a VW guy
either).  I've never had any issues losing brake fluid and it's the only
change I can think of that may have changed the level...I don't see any
leaking wheel cylinders and brake pedal is solid otherwise.

...moral of the story is check the obvious first and don't expect that
paying someone to do ordinary maintenance can't cause you trouble.

--

Wil

"Creative minds are uneven, and the best of fabrics have their dull spots."
-- H.P. Lovecraft