reverse gear problem

[faderuther]

Hi, I hope someone can help.
I'm having a very odd problem with Claude (1983,1.9 petrol, 4 speed, Transporter) When I select reverse all is fine, he goes backwards as he should, but when I depress the clutch the back wheels lock up. First time this happened I thought i'd hit something. Anyone else have this problem?
Cheers

[Aidan]

very worn pinion bearing
drain plug magnet will be very thick with a sludgy stem

[faderuther]

Hi
Thank's for the quick response, I'm having a bit of trouble locating the pinion bearing, there's no mention in the haynes book...could you elaborate a little bit more for me, please.

[Aidan]

drain the oil see if the drain plug magnet corresponds with my discription, if so it's rebuild time
it's not covered in Haynes, it just says 5 spanners job
Bentley manual for gearbox detail

[faderuther]

Hmm looks like it's a professional job then. I'll get a good look at it later in the week, it doesn't look too difficult to remove though.
Thanks for your help Aidan.