is it time for a new motor/trans?

[Seanz0rz]

Buy mine. It's for sale (soon).

[troyboy162]

getting something with more fuel economy?

[Seanz0rz]

HA! Looking for something bigger. 100 series.

[troyboy162]

How much bigger is that then a 3rd gen towing a trailer :P You just barley got that thing all sorted... lets beat on it for a few more years : )

[Kryptoroxx]

Buy mine. It's for sale (soon).

What?? Booooooo

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[Seanz0rz]

I want more seats, cylinders, and something a little newer and less miles.

[troyboy162]

I hear ya. I just can't start all over again, or sell my junker for pennies on the dollar. I hope I can keep it reliable and fun for another 20 years

[Seanz0rz]

Starting over is part of the fun I think. I'm ready for a new adventure.

Back to your topic, I see the complete engines on eBay all the time, would that be an option?

[troyboy162]

It might end up being an option, but I havnt persued sourcing my own engine since I wouldn't know what to look for or be able to test one. Most places will reimburse you by giving you another motor if the one you bought is bad. Well that's great, but now I'm pulling/installing two motors.

Having it installed doesn't sheild me either since again they just give me a new motor and don't cover labor. At least they have a reputation to worry about and that all the comfort I get :/

[paddlenbike]

I helped a friend pick out a Nissan RB25 (turbocharged Inline 6 used in the Nissan Skyline) from a room filled to the brim with engines. We brought along a compression tester and battery and put power to the starter motor to allow it to turn over and build compression for a compression test. Not only do you get compression numbers out of it but if something is really wrong inside the engine you'll likely be able to hear it as it turns over at starter speeds. I would also at least remove the oil cap (if they won't let you remove the valve covers) to check for other warning signs like oil sludge.

If you're not into picking out an engine this way, I suppose the other options are to buy a wrecked vehicle (for its engine) so at least the mileage is known or find a local part-out, or if your heads are good check into a brand new shortblock from Toyota. The Supra guys were buying new from Toyota as they cost around $2k at the time and you just swap over your existing heads and engine accessories.

After rebuilding an engine myself, I think the only rebuilt engine I would trust would be one that I reworked myself or from a very reputable company like LCE. Rebuilding an engine and getting the proper bearing clearances require a huge amount of high precision work...in other words, there are very few people I would trust to do it right.

What you really have going for you is that you're shopping for a truck motor and not something that gets raped like a WRX engine, and the 3.4 is one of the most stout motors I have ever heard of. Even the Toyota 4.7 V8s aren't putting up with much abuse as the number of them breaking connecting rods is starting to skyrocket now that they're getting older. (It's also why Toyota stopped making the supercharger for those engines.) Point being, the motor you are seeking should be one of the least likely to have major internal problems.

To your original question, source the engine yourself.