Hey all,

Just got my LE 5-speed running after it sat for 3 years. 240k miles on the clock. It needed a head gasket, and a whole new braking system, as well as several sensors (tps, ect, maf, o2). After all of that work I took it on its first drive yesterday, and it's in rough shape. It has a WICKED lifter/pushrod knock that's ridiculously annoying, it runs super rich, and it's hard to start cold. It ran fairly decently when it was warm and everything else feels strong, but the engine just feels old and weathered. It's a little underpowered and it feels like it's just not running optimally/reliably. It has an exhaust leak at the rear of the manifold (broken stud) and it has leaky exhaust valves (I know, i should've taken care of that initially when the head was off.)

I have decided that I'm going to stop wasting time trying to scoot by without doing an engine overhaul, since it's obvious that this engine needed more than a head gasket. I have sunk only $350 or so into this van, and it has a ton of sentimental value to me.

My issue is this; is it more financially feasible to invest some time, grunt work, and cash into the engine that's already in this van (particularly the cylinder head), or would it be a better idea to buy new/used/rebuilt? There aren't many vans where I live in Phoenix, AZ, and it looks like a new engine from Ebay is gonna cost a good 2-3k plus time and other various parts I would need. I am capable of doing almost ALL the work that would need to be done (excluding magna-fluxing and other machine shop business), and I would have a budget of 200-1300 at the most. Other than the engine being shot and the lack of functional shocks on the front/rear, this van is in good condition. Anybody here think I would be able to get by with replacing/lapping the valves, replacing valve seats, valve springs, pushrods and lifters, and all the other tidbits that would be done in a basic cylinder head overhaul, or going all the way and completely rebuilding?

Also, I know there are others on this forum whose vans are getting up there in the 250k+ range who might be in this kind of situation, so I thought it would be best to bring this here so that it's available for everyone to discuss.

Thanks for reading my wall of text, it's hard to figure out how to phrase all this and keep it short without skirting details and such.

Megadysart