hi, its me again with the chirping van.  i investigated many of the
possibilities suggested by various listmembers, and everything on the
outside seems ok (spark plugs tight, no trash in fan, not
alternator/belt/muffler).  i ran a compression test, and the results were
(in order) 90, 104, 125,124.  the first two retested wet went up to 114
and 120.  so it's probably not the valves, right?  another thing i did is
remove plug wires (only one at a time) and rev the engine to try to
duplicate the chirp.  when i removed plug wire #2, the chirping almost
completely went away.  head gasket leak?  i didn't retorque the heads
(as was recommended last fall before storage) because i wanted to ask
for advice on this first.  is there anything further that can be done
without pulling the engine?

i also have a starting problem.  i almost always need to step on the gas
to get it started, and occasionally when hot it idles high (about 1500 rpm),
fi system suggestions to check? 

here's the dilemma: my brother has a 2l motor from an 82 ready to ship to
me (about $200-$250 for shipping, full rebuild by reputable mechanic
30,000 miles ago).  i need to replace the rubber engine mounts anyway,
so i'm thinking of having him send it and just swapping for now, since i
don't know what shape mine is in, having just gotten it last year (top end
rebuild 40,000 miles ago), and having all these problems.  i would then
rebuild mine at a leisurely (learning) pace, and be on the road meanwhile.

the shipping price seems low enough that it could be recouped in parts if
i had just one major thing go wrong after i put the original engine back in
and keep the second as a spare.  but then again, maybe i should just put
my limited funds toward fixing mine.  what do you think?  i could really
use some advice.

much appreciated, matthew

ps - one of the cv boots (has audi symbol) put on last june is already
cracked!