> I woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning. When I went
> to back the car out of the parking spot, I didn't clutch and tried
> shifting it, accidentally. It shifted by making a grinding noise and
> stalled the engine.

You don't say what year or model VW you've got, but as far as I know there's no
interlock on those things. There certainly isn't on the older ones. One of the
tricks a number of us have used to get us home when the clutch cable has broken
is to just shift without clutching. Works better if the synchros are healthy,
but if you're in good practice, you can do it even if they're worn. The trick,
of course, is the start from stopped.

> Once I tried reversing with the clutch, it moved and everything
> seems to be working. I am curious to assess the damage I did.
> Hope to hear some expert opinions. Thanks

I'm no expert. Sounds like you may have chipped or maybe rounded the tips of
some gears. You may have also done nothing detectable. A mechanic told me some
years back that you can "feel" a missing or badly chipped gear by putting the
car in that gear and driving slowly over smooth pavement and feeling for a
"click" or "bump" in the shifter and/or clutch pedal as it comes around. I've
found that it works, but it can be awfully subtle. You might try that.

- Bill