You can't junk it! You've been working on this thing for over 2 years now. What would we do if we did not get your 12mo interval updates. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The bottom line is still where it was when you started. You have low compression in several cylinders. Leak down does not matter when you blow numbers like you posted above.

You have two options here. It is either a bottom end problem, which is unlikely in these engines. Or a top end problem. More likely.

If you were running 100% antifreeze, you most likely overheated it and either cracked the or burned out the head gasket when it warped. 100% antifreeze sucks for heat transfer. That is whey they tell you to dilute it with water.

Now you have the head off, you have a few options. What you do depends upon what the cylinders look like. You mentioned rust. Did one or more cylinders have coolant in them? Compression rings don't dry out, but they will rust very nicely when submerged in water. :-) If this is the case, then you have a bigger problem. The most proper way to fix it is to yank the block and let a machine shop clean it up. At this point you are looking at basically a full rebuild.

If the bottom end looks OK, no rust you are probably ok to leave it as is. Usually, these blocks have solid bottom end, you might be OK just going with it.

Now, for the head, it is time to take it to your local friendly machine shop and drop it off. It needs to be inspected. At that point, you will know if it is cracked or if you can do something with it. Best case, a valve job with minor surfacing. Worst case, cracked head and you need to look for a new one. At this point, the most cost effective route would be to source a AMC head. It will come complete and ready to bolt on.

Now, if you have light surface rust in the cylinders, you *might* be able to get away with honing them without pulling the block. This would be a super-cheap last ditch effort with the possibility of failure. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Just move the piston in each cylinder to the bottom of its stroke and hone gently what you can get to. The problem with this is you can do it, but you are still going to have to invest money in the head and if the bottom end goes to pot, you will be back to where you are right now without a functioning engine.

A new Isuzu head gasket is completely required if/when you put it back together.

Good Luck, looking forward to your 12 month update. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Michael