Thanks 'beer -- I think I found that site earlier. It appears that some have hydraulic clutch lines and yet others have cables (!); I guess the cable can snap, causing this problem. Alternatively, there seems to be a keyed shaft inside some of these trannies that is known to shear.

It would be like a dealer to assess someone a new transmission because of either of those problems, though, wouldn't it

I fail to see how the internals of a VW 5 speed could just die, not only with so little milage on them, but also under such circumstances.

Anybody else have advice?!

best, whit