hi all...

my son's van gear box was kaput on a trip in Southern California. His van
is 1989 tintop manual. We are lucky to find a rebuilt one that sits on the
shelf at a VW shop in Orange County, CA for his 1000 miles trip back home
in Oregon. What happened is the gear box was broken AND the rear linkage
was broken too...

Sooo... until someone tell me otherwise I'd think the rear linkage
malfunctioned (or broken) causing the gear box to break - according to the
mechanic the 2nd and 3rd gear was jammed together... in the meantime
another mechanic told me that the gear box broke first which make the rear
linkage to break (which I don't believe) - and I am still trying to figure
which scenario is which... (it could be both too)

according to you which scenario is more plausible (in general)?

thanks in advance

dan