My 88 VW Cabriolet convertible has been having car problems since I got it, 1st the Clutch went out. Then we had the hoses in the engine fixed and a new Alternator. After that 5th and 3rd gear would pop out of it’s gear, and that was fine because I could hold it in gear, but now the car can’t move, you can turn on the car but you can’t get it to move in any direction, the gears make sounds, as if they are moving but the car doesn’t move. Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with my car?
Sounds like either repeat of clutch problem, or the transmission’s chewed up. I’d see how much it would be to put in a used manual transmission. The ‘pop out of gear’ symptom meant that metal parts of the transmission were failing.
+1 to texases’ comment.
Also, in case you were not aware of it, by “holding it in gear” you accelerated the wear and tear on the transmission’s synchronizers, and possibly the shift linkage and other internal parts as well. In other words, you should not have driven it as you did, but that is all water over the dam at this point, so to speak.
When your mechanic inspects the trans, he can also inspect the clutch plate in order to see its condition as well.
thank you, but now I have a Hundai Santa Fe (Also a Standard) it is much better shifting and it is nicer than my cabriolet. I have decided to either sell the vw or keep it as a car just to work on as a hobby.