Nikon F Advance Lever Broken

The other day I was attempting to fix a stuck frame counter on my Nikon F, the furthest it would go back was 20, and with two of the three screws holding the counter's frame on being corroded the best option I saw was to apply lighter fluid to the roll size reminder, and hope the fluid flowed into the mechanism. It was working, but I needed to advance the counter to 36 since the movement helped clear the mechanism. In the process I was advancing the camera while set in Rewind to quicken the process, and after doing this a few times the lever suddenly could not advance the camera. The lever still moves but whatever connects the lever to the advancement mechanism is disconnected. The shutter works fine if I turn the toothed spool on my own.

I'd try and investigate myself but as I mentioned two of the screws which hold the outside of the frame counter on are corroded and cannot be removed, and thats the first step in removing the top cover. Is this worth trying to get fixed? I have a local repair technician thats experienced and well trusted that I'd bring this too, but I don't know how easy of a fix this is. Plus the repairs might cost more than a functional body, since I've found Nikon F bodies on eBay for around $80. Any advice is appreciated.

My guess is to take your own advice...unless you have a "special" relationship with the repair guy, It can't hurt to get an estimate... Once you "replace" it , you can go forth where no mere man has gone before and drill out the corroded screws and see if you can find the slipped linkage. That said.. There are many Nikon enthusiasts here who know these cameras well .. .perhaps the related problem is at the bottom and can be approached there. ..

As my mother always said... if you don't have anything helpful to add... keep your mouth shut.... sorry!