I know, I know. I was warned. I knew about the possibility of it failing. It's just that......



Sh!t, nevermind <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> My dumb<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/butwiggle.gif" alt="" /> knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

I'm usually off Mondays. So, figured it'd be fun to take the wife and kids up past Clayton to hike up Rabun Bald. Normally a fun little day trip with very mild wheeling. Got about halfway there. Heard what I thought was rock. Dash warning lights come on. I shut it down immediately and coast off into a parking lot. Knew right away what it was. Well, it couldn't have been better timing or a better place to happen. Had perfect cell service (usually very spotty in that area), parked it in an open area with a big oak for the fam to sit under. And, to boot, it wasn't even 90*, even though it was supposed to be 98*. Oh, and the tow truck was right up the street. Took em 15 minutes to get there. An hour and $150 after "The Big Bang" and we were back at the NAPA store where I could better survey the damage. And plan my attack.

Thanks to Eddy and Frank for taking my calls <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> And for the plenty ideas on fixing it.

It's broken off about 3/8" into the crank snout. The balancer appears to be in usable condition, we'll see. Crank snout is still cherry, yay. The remainder of the bolt and the washer are long gone. Got a neato looking bolt extractor at Home Depot. Couldn't find any reverse drill bits. That would've been the preferred method. In talking with Frank, we came to the hypothesis that the bolt should not be under load. So, if I can get it to turn at all, it should come out straighaway. Unless, I used some Loctite. Can't remember. Thought at first I did, now I'm not so sure.

If you've read this far, thanks for listening. And wish me luck.

Larry