IF the clutch pedal feels normal.........nice firm smooth pressure.........
then I'd lean toward thinking the clutch hydraulics are working,
and the pilot bearing is shot , or dragging.
Assuming you're talking about one of your vanagons of course.
But that was the exact symptom on a pilot bearing issue a while ago......it
was 'intermittent failure to disengage cleanly' .
Pilot bearing was just dust.
It' semi-common for the pilot bearing felt dust seal to be missing because
the metal ring in the middle of the flywheel that holds it is missing.

You could also watch the throw out lever move at the bottom of the slave
cylinder while someone operates the clutch pedal..........
see if it looks like good travel there.
Basically it comes down to.........'usually that is' ..........whether it's
external to the bell housing, like hydraulics.
Or if not that............then you need to get inside the bell housing to
see what's going on.
Scott
turbovans

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ian Allan" <ian.allan@BMTS.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 1:15 PM
Subject: Hanging Clutch Disc

> Season's Best to Y'all,
>
> I need advice before I pull apart my engine/transmission to attempt to
> solve a clutch/shift binding problem. Here is the issue. When I
> "feather" the clutch to creep ahead or creep in reverse then the
> clutch disc will  not fully release. ie depressing the clutch pedal
> does not fully release the disc. My cure is to turn off the engine,
> horse the shifter into neutral, restart the engine, blip the throttle
> several times and then USUALLY all is well again until the next time I
> have to "creep".  The clutch pedal feels absolutely normal when this
> disc hanging/shift binding occurs. Pumping the clutch offers no cure.
> Yet in normal driving the disc hanging/shift binding never occurs.
>
> Ian Allan
>
> 94 Eurovan Westfalia
> 86 Syncro
> 85 Westfalia/Bostig
> 02 Jetta 1.8t
> 90 Audi 90Q
> 02 Duramax 2500