Rainman, I don't know of you are a member on the "other" Ruger site,
www.rugerforum.net but Iowegan, a retired gunsmith, has IBOKs (Iowegan's Book Of Knowledge) on several different types of guns and has just come out with one for the Mini 14. Included are complete, detailed instructions for detail stripping the entire gun, including the gas system. Doesn't seem too hard, the most difficult part seems to be finding a torque wrench that will read in inch pounds (the bolts on the gas block require torquing to 20 inch pounds, IIRC). Join and get 10 posts and all the IBOKs become available.
On a side note, although I don't own a Mini, I read the Mini 14 IBOK and learned a lot about the Mini. I always assumed that the gas piston was an actual captured, non-removable gas piston, like on an M1 Carbine, and that turned me off of Minis. If I own a gun, I like to be able to strip it for cleaning, gas system included. Thanks to the detailed pics and descriptions, I now know that the Mini gas "piston" is more like, I dunno, a "spigot" that goes into a hole in the slide, which then acts like a piston. I've always liked the way the Mini looks and am now considering one in stainless for a "General Purpose" gun. Now, if mags would just come down in price to where AR mags are, I'd be a REAL happy camper!
Bub