Not Good, Help needed :(

[Reasty]

Drove home tnite like any other night happy as larry,car was running fine and all was well untill i pulled into my road when there was a loud bang and the car jumped out of gear,now i cannot select any gears at all while the engine is running and when you try and put the car in reverse theres a loud crunch as if the clutch isnt engaging,weird thing is tho when you turn off the engine you can select all gears except 5th whether the clutch pedal is down or not (there is no difference in feel),ive checked the linkage and its all moving as it should and this obviously means the clutch cable hasnt snapped either so does it sound as if the clutch has just gone? there was no crunching of gears or slipping prior to this happening something just went bang and that was that i now have no gears 
Any help would be much appriciated.its an 97 AGG 8V gti

Cheers.

[Reasty]

As i can select gears when the engine isnt running ive just tried putting it in gear then with my foot on the clutch starting the engine,the car instantly started to roll forward even tho my foot was firmly on the clutch pedal,what confused me is why when the engine is running it crunches into reverse but all other gears are completely locked 

[Deano2711]

Sounds to me like the clutch has popped Mate. Was there a burning smell when you got out of the car ??

[Reasty]

No clutch burning smell at all deano and no warning it was going to happen,wasn't slipping at all just fine one minute and then BANG!! and it was gone! I've never known a clutch to do that before normally you get a warning it's on it's way out.

[Reasty]

I really need some help or views on this guys.
after some more investigation,the arm on the gearbox is at 9 o clock which I'm thinking is full adjustment? only thing is tho I can push the arm down to about 7 o clock but after doin so a few times it becomes solid at 9 o clock and I can no longer push it down,untill I push the clutch pedal,then you can push the arm down to 7 o clock again untill it becomes rigid,also as I said starting the car in gear with foot on clutch the car instantly rolls forward but starting in gear with foot off clutch the car jumps forward as it would do,surley this means I must have a clutch,also I'm tottaly confused as to why gearbox feels perfect and selects all gears when the engine isn't running but is locked out of all gears when the engine is running,please someone help I need the car for work or I'll have to get the mk2 out 

[MK3TDi1996]

get the mk2 out!

Are the nuts on the linkage all tight?

[Dubbyboy]

Just a thought, but could it be the finger that operates the clutch release rod has broken (easiest to check I believe).
From what you describe your clutch is okay (as you can drive it off the starter), your cable operation sounds as if it is working so the the link in the chain is the clutch release mechanism, could possibly be that the rod has gone through the plate on the clutch.

[Reasty]

Just a thought, but could it be the finger that operates the clutch release rod has broken (easiest to check I believe).
From what you describe your clutch is okay (as you can drive it off the starter), your cable operation sounds as if it is working so the the link in the chain is the clutch release mechanism, could possibly be that the rod has gone through the plate on the clutch.

Would this not of made the clutch pedal go straight to the floor? also if the cable had snapped would this also not of made the pedal go to the floor? I still have the pedal up and there is resistance there not alot but there is something.

[JC]

think this is what happened to guys mk3 on a fateful day van shopping. 

little lever on a spline drive inside the g/bos - accessable thru the round green paint lid thingy on the end of the box 

[Dubbyboy]

The cable will be sprung to a certain level as the self adjusting cable will do this, I believe you can access the lever from the end of the box however you will need to replace the cover as once you get it off it's useless. Seen them on Ebay for around £10.