Folks,

Yesterday when warm starting, the oil pressure would not come up (by the sound of the engine and warning light) is this a likely oil pump problem? How difficult is it to correct? ie. is it hard to get to? ime to trade or change engine? only 105K on engine.
any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

I am sure others will chime in here, but...I have a Raider with the same engine and problem. It had been doing this on-n-off for a few years, but always pumped up after a few seconds/minutes. Now it doesn't want to pressure up at all and just sits there and rattles on, even after I rev it up and let it fall back to idle, which used to work.

Getting to the oil pump? Ha ha, ALL you have to do is pull the cylinder head, oil pan and front cover and it's sitting in there behind where the water pump mounts. This is not very easy. To pull the oil pan (and some may say it's not entirely necessary), you'd have to raise the engine to allow the pan to clear crossmembers/differential. To remove the cylinder head ther's lots of stuff to remove and mark. Everything has to come off the front of the engine, too.

Deep breath? You bet. Lots of gaskets, too. Hopefully someone else can reassure you, but I guess it's not me...

John B.

Did the pressure come up after a few seconds?

Today, the oil pressure did come up after about 30 seconds - ran the rpms up a bit ---like John B said...
Sure doesn't seem very good for the engine though..?
Bob

I've had 2 low/no oil pressure issues with the old 2.6L:

1. Oil press send unit failed. Replace send unit, oil pressure good.

2. Oil pump gasket began to fail, no oil pressure = seized engine = $4K rebuild.

Make very sure which one you're dealing with.

Mine does the same thing but only when hot. Just don't drive until the pressure comes up <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cyclops.gif" alt="" />

There has been mention about the secondary chain which powers the oil pump. Have you adjusted the chain? Access hole is below the water pump on the front cover.

Remove sender and install mech gauge into same hole with Metric thread or 1/8"npt pipe and teflon tape. I've got a gauge and 16" hose that fit that I'll loan you if you need it. That is the best test for peace of mind and oil pump diagnosis. I've tested senders with a bicycle pump or compressed air and an ohmeter, too.

Either way its not something to gamble on...I had a Grand Cherokee that lost oil pressure while driving one day. I was able to start it again and load it on a trailer, start it and unload it and drive it into the shop...but I didn't gamble any further than that...never know when you'll lose pressure permanantly or where you'll be. Can't be much more difficult than it was to do on that thing in the middle of the winter on a cold concrete floor!