i am going to have my mechanic do a compression test but my car is at work right now and i do not have access to it untill monday. i am obviously going to perform all the tests and check before i get involved in a motor swap i was just making sure that if it does come down to a bad head or piston etc. that i can use a motor from a 2004 wrx with half the miles that my car has and was running up untill a week or so ago when my friend rear ended a dump trunk lol bad for him great for me potentially