[Mike Andrew]

Yikes!!! What the heli was it? That is a serious rip in the pan to repair. I think that I would weld rather than JB as a long term repair.
I am amazed at the amount of debris on our highways, particularly shards of 18 wheeler tires. Not sure why so many tires blow but it appears that a lot do.
Been lucky in this department for the most part. Did have a 2 X 4 kicked up by a truck a distance ahead of me on an expressway years ago in my virtually new Scirocco. Luckily for me, it hit the A pillar on the driver's side and didn't come thru the windscreen and take me out. Thing must have gone 20 feet in the air, tumbling and I had nowhere to go to avoid it.
Good luck with the clutch.