[OT] 1988 Jetta Tranny Problem

[jasonfsnow at nac.net (Jason F. Snow)]

Hey Gang,

I went to shift from 5th gear to 4rth gear the other day, when I pushed my
clutch in, it only went 1/4 way to the floor and felt very hard. As I
shifted down, 3rd. 2nd. 1rst, it became easier and at 1rst gear, you could
barely notice the problem (I could put the clutch to the floor. Over the
last couple of months, I've been hearing a grinding sound as I coast in 2nd
and 1rst gear. I thought it was a wheel bearing. I think the two are
related, because now sometimes I hear a clunking and pinging when the car is
in neutral or when I have the clutch in all the way. Also, it is becoming
harder to shift into 1rts. Any thoughts?

I put redline tranny fluid in it when I first got the car, probably about a
year ago and about 30,000 miles later. 

I don't have any money to second guess, I'm hoping to identify the problem
and fix it the first time...

Has anyone heard of this before?

Any help would be appreciated,

Jason