well nightmare has happened.

timing belt finally went to %$^@ and well last i looked i saw white smoke coming out of the tailpipe.

i kinda knew i was just pressing my luck.

but being "in between jobs" i just couldnt afford a timing belt job (esimated at $1200... yikes) so i drove... added coolant (i also had water pipe issues also) and drove... added more coolant.

now tonite i was dead on the water. or more specifically, dead in the middle of an intersection. or close to it.

i contacted a place in oregon that does 3.4 swaps but quoted me around $4500 and over 3 weeks (or was that months).

i do have my other daily driver so that aint an issue so i can wait...

so if the head gasket blew... again and maybe killed the heads, is the 3.4 swap really better?

i'm reading sites with reman'ed 3vzes in the $1700 range. uninstalled.

so adding labor cost, a $2000 price vs a 3.4 swap for double... worth it?