shimano DX pedals- broken plastic bit

[no kar]

i was unscrewing the spindle last night on my DX pedals and the threaded plastic sleeve that surrounds the spindle assembly snaped- now the spindle and the grey plastic splined flange spin together!
how can i get this mess out to replace the spindle?

my mechanic housemate says im screwed and reccomends putting it in the oven for an hour and melt the plastic out...

any other ideas?

[oldfart]

I broke the plastic bit on my venerable 737 pedals ten years ago. A torch had no affect on the plastic. I ended up digging the bits out and /or jamming a screwdriver in the space between the axle and plastic so that I could unscrew it.