firewall crack at the clutch cable

[81SPIDERMATT]

would love to hear tips on this fix .... Matt

[courtenay]

Not mine, but might help...

http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic ... 05#p277248

[81SPIDERMATT]

thanks .... was hoping for a "how do I get to the area" ...car is my daily and need to move as little as possible to access the crack .... never played with brake booster except for total replacement with hydraboost unit on the scout ... hoping to remove booster and 3 brake lines and move booster and resevior as one unit ... after staring at it a little more last night I might have to move the fuel rail .... maybe even the intake .... I would love to have an empty engine bay for this but that is not going to happen .... I have read that some have even pop riveted sheet metal to the area to stiffen things up .... cut out a section from a parts car and tack that in place right over the affected area ... I am looking into the second option and may place a wanted ad for such ,,,, its all guess work until I get the booster out and see how bad the crack is ..... wondering if I can do it all from the engine bay or are things on the inside needing to get moved also ...steering column.. whole foot pedal assembly .... not afraid to dive in and get it done .... just wanting a little "here is what I did or ran into along the way" ... things to look out for or make my job a bit easier .... I was so hoping it was just going to be a clutch cable adjustment .... NOPE .... Matt

[CoupeFan]

Mine cracked sometime in the mid 90s. That I was chewing through clutch cables every 3-4 months was a clue, even though I could install a new one in what seemed like 5 minutes, enough was enough. We welded a plate over the area. This got rid of the flex. I'm on the same clutch cable since that repair was performed.

[Odoyle]

MC, Booster, and pedal box will definitely need to come out, I did the repair with the engine removed so cannot speak on manifold issues. I wouldn't recommend pop rivets.

[wetminkey]

Wow! What a PITA, Matt! I sure wish you the best of luck.
I have a PITA of my own,...you may have seen already, here on the forum.
I have to agree about the pop rivets,...I think they'll fail over time.
I know of other applications where a steel plate is bolted in place over the failing metal to strengthen the construct,...wish I could help further. Best of luck, Todd.

[81SPIDERMATT]

OK. I have made some progress. 3.5 by 7.5 chunk of steel I used a cardboard template to fit it. not the empty engine bay and welded in piece that I would like to have done but it sure will work. sheet metal screws hold it in place and actually pulled most of the sagging firewall back into place. I think the previous owner may have know about this problem and adjusted the cable accordingly. Now that it is back to where I think it should be I have no play in the clutch. once everything is back together I will have to get under the car and figure out how to un adjust the cable? I put a notch in the steel with a hole the size of the small part of the grommet and sort of slid it into place. this allowed me to not have to remove the clutch cable from the top of the pedal. Just pulled the cable in the engine bay and washer and grommet came out enough to slide my fix into place. Pre-drilled the steel and used some good size sheet metal screws to hold it. when pushing in the clutch I still have a bit of deflection but very minor and I think once the booster is bolted back in it will have almost no movement at all.

and then a few days later

Gravity bleed the brakes and made a small adjustment on the cable and I am off. Big improvement from the failing firewall. Car is running great and glad to be back on the road.... Matt

[wetminkey]

Glad to hear you got 'er back on the road, Matt!
Congrats!
Todd.