You may want to consider changing the starter if you have a syncro.
They are a PITA to change on their own.

Chris

On 1/22/07, Ben S <phlogiston420@gmail.com> wrote:
> over the past weekend, as i was driving through the sierra nevada mountains,
> my clutch suddenly stopped disengaging with the pedal completely depressed.
> this was evidenced by the vehicle lurching forward as the starter was
> cranking the engine with the tranny in first gear and the clutch pedal on
> the floor.  subsequent gear shifts could not be accomplished without
> shifting into neutral and rev matching.  i am assuming this is not a problem
> with the clutch hydraulics because the clutch has been making a rattling
> noise when partially engaged (while parallel parking for instance) for a few
> weeks.  also, pumping the pedal does not cause the clutch to disengage and i
> did not observe any fluid leakage by the clutch master or slave cylinders.
>
> so, assuming that i am looking at a clutch replacement, which i do not have
> the time or location to tackle myself, here are my questions:
>
> what is the best, highest performance, clutch that can be purchased for the
> vanagon?  i see that volks cafe, my normal parts source, offers both a sachs
> and luk version, with the latter costing more.  is this the best clutch
> available?
>
> is there other work i should have performed on the transmission while it is
> out?  i don't know how many miles the vanagon tranny is good for, but it
> seems that if i am going to pay to have it removed and reinstalled, having
> it rebuilt, or replaced with a rebuilt one might be worthwhile.  which of
> those is the recomended alternative?  and should i have the main crank seal
> replaced?
>
> is this a typical failure mode, that the clutch will cease to DISengage?  i
> would have expected to notice clutch slippage, or a failure to engage
> completely, as the first sign of extended wear.
>
> the van is an '87 westy with 158,000 miles.  i bought with 85,000 on the
> clock and neither i nor the prev owner had any clutch work done.
>
> thanks for any info.
>
> Ben.
>