Here's another question. A compression check only tells me wether my engine is not holding pressure, but it won't tell me what part is to blame, right? What I'm wondering is if I should worry about rebuilding the bottom end at all. I could do the HG and have a shop do the head for not too much. The oil pressure seems fine and as for the rings on the pistons, that might be something I could live with for a little while. I would much rather tell my wife that the head has to be rebuilt than tell her that the engine needs to be pulled. How long can I get away with not redoing the piston rings, and how much does a good shop usually charge for re-doing a head?