Wilsons Sandbox

I just discovered this discussion group yesterday, and browsing through the recent msgs, found exactly what I needed, but it was a little scary, prophetic, that is. Read the posts on broken shift levers, and thought 'How curious, I have never seen a broken shifter except when they were smashed'. Well, on the way home from work my lever started feeling mushy, then gave up altogether. Interesting to commute on the streets of San Francisco with only third gear. It looks like the weld might have weakened the surrounding metal, as the break followed the weld exactly. I rewelded it last night and will see if it holds up. Thanks to those who posted the tire recommendations-- I need 'em and think I will go for the Karoos. Finally, has anyone tried a leak-down test? Does the release hold the exhaust valve open when it's not moving? I found that I wasn't able to do a compression test and want to know why I'm using so much oil. Thanks, Lee