Do or die to save my ‘89 Volvo 740

[MichaelM1992]

My 1989 Volvo 740 needs an engine swap or an engine rebuild, whichever is cheaper. I am a poor college student/student teacher working full-time for free and living off of my savings, so it is prohibitively expensive to pay the conventional price quoted to me from a couple of mechanic shops. However, I was recommended to go to your side and ask what you would charge for a red black Volvo engine, provided of course that I can find someone in or near Greenville, IL to do the work for a relatively cheap price. I have some time, but not a lot, I’d hate to have to junk the car, even if ultimately I’m not the one that’s driving it.

[volvolugnut]

To start the conversation, how do you know your engine needs to be replaced? Does it have hole in the side? Does it have oil in water or water in oil? Does it have no compression?
If it only needs minor repair, that would be cheaper than replacement. If it needs major rebuild, a engine swap would be cheaper.
Do you need a solid engine to last a long time and lots of miles, or do you just need some local transportation for a year or two.
volvolugnut