The clutch won't disengage. The firewall where the clutch master cylinder mounts has broken away. What's the best way to fix this?

 

Broken away, as in "rusted out" or what? Sounds terminal maybe.

 

No rust. My truck has 870,000 miles on it. The sheet metal stress cracked. Part of the firewall where the lower part of the clutch master bolts up has broken off and had disappeared. There's no room on the inside for a backing plate. The firewall looks like it's a double wall. Hope it's not terminal.

 

Going to be tough to fix I suspect. Try talking to a body shop? They can sometimes do miracles.

 

I did some more research and found this TSB:
"TSB 90-16-7
CRACKS - DASH (ENGINE COMPARTMENT BULKHEAD) - CLUTCH MASTER CYLINDER AREA - VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 6/15/90

CLUTCH - HIGH EFFORT - DASH CRACKED IN CLUTCH MASTER CYLINDER AREA - VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 6/15/90

LIGHT TRUCK:
1984-90 BRONCO, F-150, F-250, F-350 1988-90 F SUPER DUTY

ISSUE:
Incomplete clutch release and/or hydraulic fluid leaking into the cab from the clutch master cylinder may be caused by the reinforcement plate on the clutch
master cylinder separating from the dash panel. The separation of the reinforcement plate reduces the clutch master cylinder pushrod travel. Reinforcement
plate separation can also cause deflection of the clutch master cylinder that results in a misalignment of the pushrod to the clutch master cylinder.
Misalignment causes the "O" ring in front of the secondary seal to leak hydraulic fluid.

ACTION:
Inspect the truck and, if necessary, use the following service procedure to install a reinforcement kit.

Use reinforcement kit E3TZ-7K509-B on all 1983-1991 Bronco/F-Series trucks with hydraulic clutch controls. The kit consists of the following items:

^
A main reinforcement or doubler, with a plate having two studs to clamp the doubler through the cowl inner
^
Two additional pieces with three threaded holes:

One plate helps attach the main doubler through the dash inner tunnel. The other large piece is placed inside the front of the cowl, with bolts driven through from the
engine compartment side of the dash reinforcement."

I have the kit on order and will install it when it arrives.
Thanks,
tgood