Zed,
You've got the same exact prioblem as I. I put a reman head on convinced it was a lifter. Anyway, I'm going to do the JDM thing now and keep the old engine for spare parts (like the new head if I need it).
My friend told me their taxes go thru teh roof in Japan if they keep a car until it's old. Is that why they have these JDM engines for sale?
I need to find out what the difference is between G10L, G10A, G10V & whatever. I see all these letters in the ads. Mine is an XFi model and I think they have different stuff in 'em. Someone said they only have 2 rings instead of 3, for fuel economy. It probably will make little if any difference but I want to find out.
Ted