Long story short – it’s possible.
I was concerned that after having PLA ooze through the threads that I would be forced to use my backup PTFE barrier. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover that I can print just fine with my reassembled unclogged extruder. I’ve been able to print several things without so much as a hiccup.
So be delicate with your PTFE even after plastic has oozed into the threads – you may just be able to use it if you can clear out the plastic from the threads.
I think even if you can’t chip out all the PLA buildup in the PTFE, if you screw it on while the barrel is hot and use a nut on the barrel, you should be ok. That’s what I did as I’ve been trying to salvage a screwed up extruder. It seems to be holding together well, but the filament just won’t push through right. So I think I’ve developed a clogged barrel as well. I’m planning on getting a blow torch tonight to burn it clean like you did. Wish me luck.
Tony,
I wish you luck!
So, it’s hard to tell what I did that may have been extraneous. It’s possible that chipping plastic out of the barrel threads is unnecessary where you’re just going to torch the barrel clean. It’s also quite possible that my drilling out the barrel was unnecessary for the same reasons – that it all would have been burned out all at once.
Then again, drilling the barrel and cleaning the threads gave me something to do during the week while I couldn’t take the time to torch the barrel.
However, I still think it is probably a good idea to at least clean up the barrier. The plastic in the threads would likely melt and clog things up all over again.