Hmmm... I like Hotrod's advice. Put the head on it and try it. I can always do more work later.
Let me ask a couple of questions though. 1) With the head off, should the crank and pistons turn freely by hand? If so, then I probably have a problem. Like I said, my crank turns very hard by hand. 2) If I put the head back on, and compression is uniform and increases to within 10 or 15% of spec, my engine is good, right? If I have a crack-free head with good compression, what else is there?
I also like the idea of tearing into the engine myself, but I wonder how badly I could screw things up. If I really mess up, it's probably not a life safety issue, right? It's more like a wrecked engine issue. Can it get any worse than Hotrod's experience?
What kind of special tools do I need to do the job myself? I have a shop manual, and it refers to all sorts of special tools for special jobs. I don't have any of them. It looks like my first obstacle is getting the main pulley off the end of the crank. I'm not sure how to do that.
