My sister has a 1979 240D that got low on oil over time.

She was driving it to San Fran and the valves started clicking so she immediately pulled over (go figure). Checked the dipstick and then proceeded to beat her fiance as he was the one that supposedly checked the oil before they left, not a drop on the stick. It took 4 qt's to get it back to the right level. They then drove the rod knocker home (didn't lose any oil on the way home) and took it to a local shop.

The shop she took it to verified that it does have a rod knocking and thinks that a new engine is the answer. I called and talked to the shop to see if anything else was wrong. The shop says that as far as they can tell the only problem is the rod knock. Why replace an engine because of a rod knock? They want $3500 to fix a $2500 car.

So my question is, can I jack the engine up, pull the pan from below, and spoon in new bearings? I'm hoping that just the bearings need to be replaced, not the crank.

Any other comments and suggestions are welcome.

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1987 300SDL 167k
1992 Volvo 740 140k
1990 Volvo 740 250k
1989 Volvo 240 269k

Anyone want to trade an old Volvo for an '87 300sdl?