I just purchased my first car- a 1989 Firebird w/2.8 v6 and 160k a little over two months ago, and just recently took it into a garage to get an oil leaking problem fixed (would drip onto the exhaust and smoke alot). Anyways, the whole deal was supposed to cost $175.00 for evertything to be fixed, but when I came back to pick my car up I was told that they have been trying for hours to try and take off a bolt to get further into the engine, but it was stuck on. Well, to make the story short, I am losing $300 for nothing, the oil burning problem is not fixed, and Im told my engine doesnt have much longer. I know that doesnt sound like a lot to many people, but I work a minimum wage job and had to save forever to afford the $1500 price tag on my car. Im going to keep my firebird no matter what because I love it to death, so, my question is, how do I go about getting a new engine? Does it have to be another 2.8 v6 from another firebird of the same year? Will an engine taken out of another gm car work, or one taken out of a mustang ?, etc. Any and all help is really appreciated because my knowledge of fixing cars is not so great.

you'd need another 60* v6 or you'd have to swap transmissions. best to find one exactily like what you have, but others can work with a little extra effort. mosly you want all the esnsers to match up, or swap all to the new engine. do a search or read some post on here and you should get a good feel for what's involved.

Maybe you just need a new mechanic.