So that sucked, but had to be done. The Grex has been weird and paint is freakin everywhere, so I finally did what I should have done when I bought it – a full breakdown. You want to kill the mystery, look under the hood.
Apparently my crack about breaking the seal was a bit closer to home than I intended. I must have overtightened the fluid nozzle at some point and compromised it. Once I got in there, I managed to finish the job and shear it off completely. Because of the seal for the needle, It’s the one part I can’t get to any other way.
Took longer than I care to admit to back the broken bit out of the threads without shredding them, but should be good to receive a replacement. Bumped up a size as the 0.5mm set was the only thing with 2-day delivery. Maybe it won’t clog as much. Either that or the messes with will categorically larger. Also managed to drop the sheared off bit on the hardwood – sure I’ll find that barefoot at 0300.