[Walt Fricke]

James - the crankshaft is soft, and easily scratched? Where did that come from? I perceive the crank as being about as tough as you could imagine, especially on the nitride surfaces of the journals.

Try to drill and tap the crank plug holes so you can make cleaning the insides of the crank easier next time, and tell me how many taps you break. I've avoided that by just taking the crank to a crankshaft shop for cleaning and resealing.