Sanbyj@TELKOM.CO.ZA writes:

<< My fourth gear went in a most perculiar way... When in
fourth, it was as  if I was in nutral - all the other gears worked
ok. What had happened  was that the gear is made up of two
parts: 1 the gear teeth and the  other part is the engaging part
(Sorry for my names but I don't know the  proper names) These
two are supposed to be fixed together. Heat pressed  or
something, but they became loose  so that when the gear was
engaged,   nothing happened. >>

On some early model's the clutch or dogring for the gears was
brazed on.  This is the ring that the 3rd/4th gear slider grabs onto
when you shift into gear and transmits the torque through the
system.  VW found out that this braze would fail and the dog
ring would just spin on the gear, much like what happend to
Jimmy.  They went to an electron beam welding procedure with
later units that seems to have cured the problem.

-Todd Hill
 VolksWerks Transaxles
 Olympia, WA