DieselPaul,

That is an excellent question. I am only assuming the worst. I do not have definite evidence that the head is bad.

I have actually never done a head gasket replacement before. When I knew that this 2.2 was in the junkyard and I could get the head off of it for less than $100 it seemed like a no-brainer to grab it and have it as a back up. Plus it would give me a good idea of how hard it would be to get the head off of my 2.0. I would learn a lot, and i did.

I also like having a spare just in case.

I am overly concerned about the head because I have a feeling that the PO let the car overheat, based on the description I got. I just have that feeling. In all likelihood it may just be a bad gasket. I need to actually pressure test it which I hope to do this weekend.

I also have a bit of a fear that it may be the rings.