'98 legacy with a 2.5 replacement engine source?

I'd get a second opinion. If all that was showing was some melted engine cover and any shrouding in the engine compartment, it's worth the couple hundred bucks to have the internals of the motor scoped (kind of like an endoscope for motors). Either that or have the cylinder head completely removed for a visual inspection of the cylinder walls and piston rings. The scope is far more accurate in terms of find hair line cracks in the block or cylinder walls.

Radiator crack caused the coolant to drop below the thermostat, so it was reading fine, but the engine was real hot. I know the gaskets go bad, the mech said heat resistant plastic pieces near the plugs had melted. Not an engine guy myself, but would a scope show warping of the cylinders? Just dont want to sink money into reassembly if a new motor that doesn't have 150k on it can be bought.

I got mine from a place in Miami : JDM 305.com. They sell take out engines from Japan with an average of 60,000 miles on them. The only thing is you might have to change somes sensors from the old engine into the new one . Mine is still going great for about a year now . They are USA emissions compliant also. They come with a gaurantee .