Replacement interval for Oil Pump

[John Ramsey]

Hello,

I have 1997 Acura Integra LS with 292,000 Miles on it. The question is whether I should replace the oil pump while I’m changing the timing belt and myself the labor and possibly the engine. I can understand that this isn’t a part that needs to be changed every 90,000 but is 300,000 getting too old for the oil pump? On the other hand, I can’t imagine a much happier existence for a pump than to pump oil.

Topic

[dan]

if you are confident you can do it, and its right there in front of you do it man, i mean you have nothing to loose in doing it, heck if i had the front end of the engine torn down, and i was replacing the timing chain, id change my oil pump too…

just my 2 cents, i mean if you ever overhaul a engine no matter what its more or less a rule of thumb too always replace the oil pump, one time i was working on a Fordson Major Diesel tractor and we didn’t replace the oil pump, couldn’t pump oil through the tighter clearances and we spun main and rod bearings…

[college man]

really there is no interval time. But pushing 300k you could do it.
On the other hand you don’t want to put alot of money into the car
but keep it running.if its not that expensive put it in. 🙂

[EricTheCarGuy]

I don’t recommend it. I’ve had Integras with over 300K on them and never had issues with oil pumps. That said, it’s not the oil pump you need to worry about, it’s the clearances between the moving parts of the engine that creates oil pressure.

I would not recommend replacement of the pump as it is not a ‘service’ part like a water pump. Also, if you were going to use an aftermarket part, that would be a step backward in my opinion.

[dan]

what eric says is true, oil pressure is not created buy the pump, it is created buy the resistance caused buy the clearences between parts such as main and rod bearings, cam bearings ect… you can replace oil pumps all day long if you have low oil pressure, but if your mains and rods have a bunch of clearences developed your oil pressure will remain low.

Eric knows Acuras better than probably anyone ells here, his advice i would take then.

[John Ramsey]

Thanks everyone! I’m always happy to learn that the easy and cheap way is probably for the best.

Does anybody have any insights as to how long an engine can typically last before needing replaced or rebuilt? Oil pressure hasn’t been a noticeable problem. (No oil pressure light at idle or low speed) And I typically only burn or lose 1 quart over the course of 6,000 miles.

I only ask because of Eric’s experience with older Integras. Is 300K the end of the line for these engines and that’s why he sees them or you see 300K Integra’s come in and keep on going?

[Lorrin Barth]

Cars in their lifetimes generally go through a number of owners. In that group of owners there will be someone that abuses the engine. So, car engines usually don’t make it to 300K miles.

There will be tolerances in the factory service manual the pump has to meet to be a good one. So, if you want to pull it and measure that will tell you if you need a new one. I wouldn’t do it myself unless overhauling the engine.

[dan]

as barneyb said most engines dont see it past 300,000 but if you take care of it and change its oil and coolant and filter and all that stuff it may see a little more.

[Author]

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