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Working on a B230F or B230FT engine's oil pan requires the same type of engine hoist as that needed to support the engine while changing the motor mounts or working on the transmission/clutch or transmission/torque converter. There is a special Volvo tool for that which can be gotten through Baum Tools or SIR Tools. Additionally, a universal engine brace is available through Snap-on or can be rented at Autozone. Some have even fashioned braces from 2x4. If you have the Bentley 240 manual or the Chilton 700 series manual I believe the tool and the procedure for revision of the oil pump is described within them. Basically the engine has to be raised up off of the engine mounts. The brace does this by a turn screw mechanism that raises the engine assembly a few inches off of the motor mounts after you've unfastened them from the chassis. I guess most mechanics replace the mounts when they have to go into the oil pan and it might also be advisable to look at the condition of the oil seals in the rear of the engine as well. With the engine jacked off of its mounts the procedure is described as one of unbolting the oil pan (after you've drained all oil through the drain hole) and rotating it off the car from underneath. Needless to say the car will have to be on jack stands in order to accomplish this task. Another way to do the same things is to use an engine jack, either rent one from a tool rental store or buy one from autozone, Straus, or another source. The pump is then removed and replaced or rebuilt and the pan reinstalled. It looks like quite a job and at your mileage I'd be tempted to remove the engine entirely, particularly if it is shown to be weak on a cylinder leakdown test and/or compression test, and replaced with either a Volvo rebuilt unit or one from a competent rebuilder. I was recently quoted $900 on a rebult B230F engine and suspect the B230FT engine would be over $1000 perhaps closed to $1500. Its still a lot less than buying a new "smaller" Volvo!
You might also want to consider a V-8 conversion if you really like the car.
I suspect that a Volvo specialist would do the oil pump job, if it really is the oil pump, for somewhat less than the $1000 for the purchase of the engine. It really helps if you have a lift to work on the car underneath when doing this job. I recently had to have CV joints and axles put on a 1987 Toyota Corolla FX, I could've done the job myself as the it looks relatively easy, but didn't want to venture under a FWD car even on jack stands to pound the axles off of the spindles. If I had a garage lift I would have undertaken the job as it is highly unlikely that the car will fall off the lift during such a procedure. That's why I probably either remove the Volvo engine entirely using an engine lift and put it on a stand if I had to do my own oil pump. I think though that you could find yourself in quite a mess if you pull the pump and discover that in addition to it you have to clear oil passages in the block in order to do the job properly. I'd also look to see if your pushing oil through the seals in the front and back of the engine or through the oil cooler? Have you cleaned the flame trap recently and seen that it is properly installed? Say while I have your attention, does you 740 turbo have an oil pressure gauge? If so it is 3,5,or 9 bar and where is the sending unit located on the engine? Is it next to the oil filter or is it located somewhere else? I'm trying to install a 5 bar pressure gauge on my 86 240 DL and have the sending unit and the gauge but just don't see how I can keep my warning light operational if I put in the 5 bar sending unit in place of the original which works with the idiot light? Is the instrument cluster oil light wired into the same sending unit? If so, where? Is the "G" terminal?
One final thought, are you using a Volvo oil filter? The Mann produced Volvo oil filter has a pressure spring in it that insures proper oil pressure at start up. If you using another brand that does not have this feature this might be the cause of your oil pressure problem. Another area of concern I just realized on a turbo engine is the oil cooler. The cooler as I've read has a pressure diverter that keeps the oil out of the cooler when the engine is cold. If the diverter has failed then this may be cause of your enginge oil pressure reading?
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