Im entertaining the idea of swapping my 3.0 out for a 3.4, the 3.0 needs a new head gasket (again) this will be the 3rd one with only 200K miles on it, the first one was replaced under a recall in 1999, rather than spend $2600 on rebuilding the 3.0 already in there and burning out another head gasket, i figured why not throw in a 3.4, my question is i see wildly different pricing options on available engines out there, ranging from $5000-6000 for a Jasper or other Toyota reman certified engine, to some for $1500-$2000 on ebay. I have no doubt the Jasper engine would be great but at $5000+ and $2500 for the install it is cost prohibitive, are the $1500 engines on ebay any good or too much of a risk? This project makes sense financially with an engine price of $2000 or less but not at $4000-5000+ but only if they're not junk. Any other good, cheap reliable sources for replacement engines that won't break the bank?

 

I've replaced 6+ used engines from car-part dot com and had good luck each time. Just pull a valve cover before you pick it up and put a timing belt / water pump on it.