Some more info on my previous post, after having my wife rev the
engine in each gear while on jackstands (the bus, not my wife... ;-)

The clacking is clearly evident when decelerating in 2nd, 3rd and
4th. In 1st it seems to need well past 4000 rpm before the noise
appears, which may indicate the CVs requiring sufficient speed
before making noise? Or does it?

So possibly it's the CVs after all. I probably won't have time to find
out for a few more days. But some more bad news became quite
clear: in 3rd and 4th, the whining which has become loud inside the
bus when driving is positively *awful* sounding at a stop. So it
seems the trans is probably not far behind after all. :-((

Is there any reason to avoid rebuilding a VW rebuilt trans (with
185k km since rebuild)? Should I be looking for a core that has not
been rebuilt?

tia...

Shawn Wright, I.T. Manager
Shawnigan Lake School
swright@SLS.bc.ca
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
http://www.sls.bc.ca