My '42 crank did not work too well, so I removed it and had a machinist friend take a look at it. The steel shaft goes through the aluminum body of the mechanism and one hole was wallowed out as you describe. He enlarged and rounded the hole and made a bushing to fit and now it works fine. If the gear teeth are worn badly you may still have problems but in my case the bit of wear is not fatal yet.
Kent


1937 Chevy 1/2 ton
1942 Chevy 1/2 ton
1947 Diamond T Model 509
1951 Chevy 1/2 ton
1950 Chevy COE Model 5700 ~ "Barney" ~ And more pix