So... how effed would I be if I stripped the threads to the hole in the crankshaft that you thread a rod into for removing the balancer/hub? The darn kit I used said to thread it in and it was only after 3-4 hours of wrenching and trying to get it off that I came on here and read "DO NOT THREAD THE BOLT IN!" Yah, too late... when I removed the bolt it removed a few threads too.

How screwed am I? Do I only need the threads to get the hub back on? If I try the oven method when I go to reassemble, will that be enough to slide it on without having to thread a bolt into the crank?

Edit: By the way, once you remove those three bolts on the balancer pulley going into the hub... a large sledge hammer works REALLY well at removing the pulley.

 

LOL @ the sledge hammer! I know how you feel. I messed my threads up in my crank but LUCKILY I managed to get the bolt back in and tight (after many hours of trying). Had I not been able to I was going to tap the crank and stud it and just use a nut.

 

You can use a threaded rod and some nuts/washers to put it back on, but never use the bolt to do that. Hopefully you have some threads left in the crank snout.

 

[QUOTE=meissenation;5802872]
How screwed am I? Do I only need the threads to get the hub back on? If I try the oven method when I go to reassemble, will that be enough to slide it on without having to thread a bolt into the crank?
[QUOTE]

You MUST use the threads to get the hub on. It is way too tight a fit no matter how much you expand the hub with heat.

Bottom line right now is you need to determine how messed up the threads are. If you only mess up the first few, you are fine. If you messed them all up, I would rethread. Either way, get a 7/16-20 tap and clean the threads up. You probably now have metal that will damage the rest of the threads if you keep going in and out with a bolt.

 

Thankfully it looks like it only messed up two threads worth. I'll definitely heed all the advice given thus far when it comes time to reinstall the hub. Thanks for the responses guys!

 

Not that I'd admit it but poor folks use a hammer and a block of wood to drive dampners on if they don't have an installer.

As far as your orginal question, unless you pulled ALL the threads, use a new bolt and clean the hole before you reinstall the hub.

Good Luck!

 

Even poor folks can afford this:

http://members.***.net/gmarengo/Misc/Misc.htm