The engine was all but rebuilt when my grandfather got it for me. The girl who had it before me had run it under the back end of a school bus, so he replaced all of the pistons, bearings, hoses, etc. I am also under the impression that an oil pump is built to last the life of the engine and if the engine is rebuilt a new oil pump is put in.
There is no smoking, sputtering, or anything. The oil was just replaced by my grandfather (a seasoned mechanic). He checked everything. I know it wasn't something that happened as a result of the head having blown and been replaced. If that were the case, it would have had problems from the get-go. It didn't. It worked for over a week without any warning lines. I check the levels every day. I'm in school 30 miles away every day. The levels are always good. There's no leaks. I also check to make sure there's no oil spewing from the tailpipe.
I've had this car for 5 years, and I can honestly say it is running the best it has since I've had it. I don't hear any hissing or anything, and if it were an actual problem, it would peg "0" when driving, and it doesn't. It's only when the RPMs drop when I come to a stop.
Just a run down, in the past two years we've had the following replaced:
fuel filter
spark plugs and wires
battery
coolant recovery tank
radiator cap
tensioner
rack and pinion steering assembly
power steering pump
windshield wiper motor
catalytic converter
fuel pump
pistons
aluminum head twice
EGR valve
EVP sensor
MAP sensor
radiator
headlight/blinker switch
plus some other stuff I probably can't even think of.
It also had the inspection done just 3 months ago and everything was fine.