ORIGINAL: Gary L.
If you put the engine AND the thrust washer in the freezer you'll be in the same boat, just with cold fingers, because the thrust washer will shrink too, you just want the shaft to shrink, and the hole in the thrust washer to stay big.
Think about what you said for a moment. The crankshaft is going to shrink, that is definite. The thrust washer is also going to shrink, however as the thrust washer shrinks, the hole is going to get larger because the metal surounding the hole is going to shrink thus making the hole larger.