another broken firewall plate
#1
another broken firewall plate
of late my clutch pedal has been feeling a little wierd and today i started having problems shifting. went to leave work, got down the street and heard the pop noise and mu clutch pedal was on the floor. limped the car back to the shop and started tearing it apart to find the dreaded broken firewall plate.
anyone have a how to on changing this? and what way does it go in, from the engine bay or from the interior?
anyone have a how to on changing this? and what way does it go in, from the engine bay or from the interior?
#6
first off, this is whats needed to even get a proper look at the firewall plate from the inside
![](https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/12373316_10207246971225919_774926010204663952_n.jpg?oh=54cc0e1c6acb3753d62896892ea4e976&oe=57174BFE)
that was around 4 hours work to get to that point. to actually remove the firewall plate id have to remove the hvac box, that required recovering the a/c refrigerant and draining the coolant. the brake booster also needs to be removed. basicly another hour or 2 of work just to remove the plate.
now for the carnage
![](https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12347919_10207246971425924_4828767686354068733_n.jpg?oh=1b7fd7fc1e7fffb28aa674024cc41659&oe=56DBFB4D)
thats it from the inside. all cracked and bent. no wonder these things fail, there is not very much contact area and a lot of pressure is being put on very little surface area.
now for the bad part, as if it wasnt bad enough, the plates are not available. local dealer said no stock in canada, i called tom at crate engine depot this morning and he had no stock, and gm didnt show any either, but gave me numbers for the only 2 dealers in the USA showing stock. one dealer couldnt find it, the other refused to sell it to me. so the end result is no new plates. i can get a used one from a wrecker for 3x the new cost (if i could get one), but they cant get it out of the car till mid next week. welding it isnt really an option, i could tig weld the plate in place, but its gonna break again.
so im working with a local machine shop on a fix. ive got an idea, going to draw it in cad tonight and hope they can cut it out tomorrow. itll be a way thicker and stronger piece and it wont require removing the firewall plate to complete the repair. only downside will be the car still needs to be disassembled to the point i have to be able to install it.
![](https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/12373316_10207246971225919_774926010204663952_n.jpg?oh=54cc0e1c6acb3753d62896892ea4e976&oe=57174BFE)
that was around 4 hours work to get to that point. to actually remove the firewall plate id have to remove the hvac box, that required recovering the a/c refrigerant and draining the coolant. the brake booster also needs to be removed. basicly another hour or 2 of work just to remove the plate.
now for the carnage
![](https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12347919_10207246971425924_4828767686354068733_n.jpg?oh=1b7fd7fc1e7fffb28aa674024cc41659&oe=56DBFB4D)
thats it from the inside. all cracked and bent. no wonder these things fail, there is not very much contact area and a lot of pressure is being put on very little surface area.
now for the bad part, as if it wasnt bad enough, the plates are not available. local dealer said no stock in canada, i called tom at crate engine depot this morning and he had no stock, and gm didnt show any either, but gave me numbers for the only 2 dealers in the USA showing stock. one dealer couldnt find it, the other refused to sell it to me. so the end result is no new plates. i can get a used one from a wrecker for 3x the new cost (if i could get one), but they cant get it out of the car till mid next week. welding it isnt really an option, i could tig weld the plate in place, but its gonna break again.
so im working with a local machine shop on a fix. ive got an idea, going to draw it in cad tonight and hope they can cut it out tomorrow. itll be a way thicker and stronger piece and it wont require removing the firewall plate to complete the repair. only downside will be the car still needs to be disassembled to the point i have to be able to install it.
#19
Junior Member
In for a solution.
#21
gm performance clutch. kinda interesting, its rumored that gm upgraded the firewall plate for the lnf, and i broke my firewall plate on what is essentially the lnf clutch. coincidence?
#22
I wish I can reply with pictures, but just my two cents, wire wheel the surface area, then find a washer with the same dimensions and tack weld it in place, I say just tack weld because if you put too much heat into that plate it will become brittle and break again. just my two cents, if this is not the fix you hoped for just take whatever info and run with the idea.
#23
IDK if this helps but I think theres some info about the clutch plate in this thread
https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/prob...rewall-301420/
According to powell in that thread, the lnf's was double what we have
https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/prob...rewall-301420/
According to powell in that thread, the lnf's was double what we have
#24
I wish I can reply with pictures, but just my two cents, wire wheel the surface area, then find a washer with the same dimensions and tack weld it in place, I say just tack weld because if you put too much heat into that plate it will become brittle and break again. just my two cents, if this is not the fix you hoped for just take whatever info and run with the idea.
what im working on is a machined piece that will sandwich between the firewall plate and the clutch pedal bracket. the piece will have much thicker tabs (roughly 2.5x thicker) and the piece itself will end up pushing on a large area of the firewall plate, well outside of the damaged area. so not only will it be a repair, it will be an upgrade. should be able to handle the stiff pressure plates people have tried running.
unfortunately the machine shop didnt get it done today, so i wont get it till monday.
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DonChepito (03-06-2023)