need advice on oil pump/pickup, and yes I did a search....

I have the pan off to do all the normal fun stuff, well I didnt research the topic too heavily and I only have a chiltons so I didnt receive a heads up to the fact that you cant remove the old pickup and reuse it

"CAUTION: If the oil pump is not to be serviced, DO
NOT disturb position of oil inlet tube and strainer
assembly in pump body. If the tube is moved within
the pump body, a replacement tube and strainer
assembly must be installed to assure an airtight
seal"

I also found alot of complaints about the pickup being hard as hell to install, needing to be pressed in. So now I am having doubts about replacing pump and pickup. There was a very thick layer of gunk on the bottom of the pan and the pump and pickup had a nice amount of the same stuff in it. Im thinking this is where my oil press issues were coming from. Course could be my oil pump or bearings which I will check tomorrow(bearings) wish I had a way to check my pump. I need to have this done by tomorrow, if Im lucky Napa will have one in stock and I could attempt to install the pickup and hope for a good seal. The downside of course is if I dont and reuse the old pump(130k on it) that the pan may have to come back off. I maybe screwed either way if no one has it in stock. Man I really wish I knew about this ahead of time I could have waited to tear this apart.

What would you guys do in this stituation, just roll the dice and reuse the pump? Or take the extra time to get a new pump/pickup? I guess Im so wishy washy because the more I think about it the more I think a bad pump at 130k !? WTF mopar. It should last the life of the motor, are oil pumps notorious in these 4.0's? It does make me wish I was working on my galaxie, alot easier and more reliable, but I guess thats why Im not working on it, lol.

So Napa has one in stock, Im gonna err on the side of caution and replace it. Hopefully installing the tube isnt too bad.

Get napa to install the pickup for you. Should cost like $10 and worth every penny.

I wish closest napa doesnt have a machine shop and this is my only vehicle so Im biking it. I use to live out west and every napa had one. Now it seems like they are doing away with them, damn shame. Guess chalk it up to a society of non-do-it-yourselfers.

I dont get why they dont sell these as a unit. I mean it sure seems like they are not intended to be serviced independently. Another stupid feat of engineering. My FE has a bolt on pickup, wow what a idea and something they came up with in the 50's. And no they dont leak so there is no worry of "the gasket could fail and ruin the motor" The more I work on my jeep the more I hate it.

is your gauge just showning low pressure? while youe at it you should either freshin up(clean the terminal) to your pressure sending unit or replace it as well while your in that deep! just a thought.

Replaced sending unit, then verified with mechanical gauge. It was starting to have lifter clatter on cold startups. I think the sludge on the bottom of the pan was a major factor. Should know more for sure by tomorrow.

What year is your XJ? I have a 01 and I'm getting low-er pressure then I use to and was thinking I would replace the pump on Monday.

It's a 2000, more than likely it's a cracked head causing wiped bearings. I know I should have done pressure check, but due to alot of factors I pulled the pan. Biggest The gasket did need changing. I will know by the end of the evening if it is the bearings as I'm about to head out after dinner to pull a few caps and put her back together.

As for the lifter clatter on startup I hope that was sludge related and not collapsing lifers or excessive bearing wear. I should know soon enough.

Well got the job all done and pulled a few caps( rods and mains ) and checking clearances with plastigauge about .002 which according to my manual is withing spec so good news there. I have to wait for some cold weather again to find out if the clatter is gone. Oil press is up alittle, but after seeing the condition of the bearings Im not too worried. Next up is press check as I did see some signs of coolant or possibly condensation from alot of short trips and not driving it at all for 2months(lost my license) So I will rent a press checker and if it shows leaky then I think I may try one of those ceramic crack sealers to slow coolant related bearing wear which again seems very minimal at this point.

Oh and a side note on the pump, the pickup wasnt too hard to install. Used the open end wrench method, I measured mine and was about .005" difference. I think that is suppose to be how it fits, makes for a good interference fit. I would not sand or resize the pickup, it is suppose to be a press fit.

FYI, I have "salvaged" pickup tubes on my own personal engines before.

Find an appropriate size metal "dowel" (measure the pump opening) to give you good interference fit, hold the tube in some soft jaws in a vice and warm the end of the tube then tap in your "dowel". Let cool, then lock the end of the dowel in the vice, warm the tube and twist it, it will slide off the dowel. If not a good tight fit, repeat with larger dowel.

Thats a good idea, damn wish I would have thought of that. All well guess I know for next time. Thanks for the tip.