weak bottom ends?

bottom, 3sgte, weak, ends, turns, waste, money, plain, build, forged, pistons, overreacting, 5sgte, motor, current, problem, swap, year, bought, planned, buying, local, people, running, crap, spoke, shops

I bought my MR2 about a year ago and had planned on doing a swap. The car came with a gen 2 3sgte but was running like crap. I spoke with a few people about buying a new 3sgte from ems or some local shops and they said its just a waste of money. They said MR2 bottom ends are just plain weak and it turns out my bottom is is actually the problem with my current motor :omg:.... So what should I do? 5sgte? Build the bottom end with forged pistons? Or were they just overreacting?