Found a bodge fix for stubborn pedal threads that actually works

Had an old crank arm that was cross-threaded from the factory, and even after chasing it with a tap I couldn't get a pedal to go in smooth. Tried grease, tried heat, tried a different pedal, nothing worked for like an hour. Then I took a rat-tail file and just gave the first few threads on the spindle a little cleanup, barely a 1/8 turn of material off. Screwed right in by hand after that. It's hacky but on a beater bike it saved me from buying a new crank. Anyone else ever file a spindle thread as a last resort?

2 comments

2 Comments

derekwalker1d ago

Honestly I used to think filing threads was asking for trouble but after chasing a seized water pump bolt on an old truck I get it now.

taylor_moore2h ago

Buddy of mine had a similar problem on a Ford 300 straight six. Spent three days heating and soaking that water pump bolt in PB Blaster... finally snapped it off flush with the block. Ended up having to drill it out and use a helicoil. After that nightmare he swears by running a tap through every threaded hole before even thinking about putting a bolt back in. Said he'd rather spend an hour chasing threads than a full weekend dealing with a broken bolt. Kinda changed my whole view on it too... sometimes the extra step saves your whole week.