Name that problem!

[amalventano at sc.rr.com (Allyn)]

>I was delivering in the 84 mk2 the other day when there was a loud snap and 
>the clutch pedal fell to the floor. That was the only noise, I popped it 
>into neutral and coasted it to a parking lot with no problem.

had this exact thing happen to the wifes jetta a year or so ago. the 
internal finger on the clutch arm (the finger that pushes against the 
throwout bearing) snapped right at its base. the arm still moved like it 
normally does (due to the spring pressure), but had no real resistance.

2 things can cause this:
1. problem described above
2. other end of clutch pushrod has punched its way through the pressure 
plate center disc

note: #1 is far more likely than #2

the way to tell the difference here is to pop the green cap off of the end 
of the tranny, then try and move the arm while observing whats going on in 
there. in my case, even though the finger was broke, it didnt seem like it 
was until i actually tried to move the arm while looking in the side of the 
tranny.

hth
Al