[sneuman]

thanks all. this reassures me a bit. i''ve been starting with the lever down and leaving it down, so i guess that''s ok. with the dipstick, i guessed that it might be screwed into the block too, but the ring at the top (which looks like a simple pull ring, but apparently isn''t) hits the injector as I try to back the stick out. WD-40 and much pressure has not managed to free the pull ring, so i''m a bit stuck on that front.