My 2000 Ram 1500 4x4 has 167000 miles on it, and im gathering parts to do the plenum fix as well as a new water pump and timing chain. But Ive also read a few threads here were the oil pump has failed on higher mileage engines, so I was wondering if it would be a good idea to also have the oil pump replaced ?.


How hard is it to replace the oil pump ?, and can the oil pan be removed with the engine in place to get to it ?.

 

pretty easy just remove oil pan and then i think there are only 2 bolts holding on the oil pump make sure the gasket comes off with the old one so you dont double gasket it, might look in to a high volume oil pump while your at, once you finish the truck before you start it un plug the coil wire and crank it over for 30 seconds or so then hook up coil wire and strt it so it has a chance to prime the oil pump

 

Or you could just prime the oil pump by hand

 

If you are going to replace the oil pump, I'd also change the oil pump drive for one with a hardened drive tip and pinned gear. You can find that here:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/dcc-3690715

In order to replace the drive, you will need to remove the distributor. When removing the distributor, make sure you mark its location, so that it can be put back in the same exact location and orientation as it was originally.

Also, since you are doing the intake plenum gasket fix, I'd be sure to replace the distributor cap, rotor and plug wires, too. With the plenum out of the way, it makes accessing the distributor much easier.

 

Is the stock oil pump drive gear something that's known to break or go bad ?. Ive never read of anyone having problems with this part before.

 

The hardened drive is an upgrade, and considered "insurance". I replaced my pump quite some time ago with a high volume unit, but, did not replace the drive. I haven't had any problems with it.

I HAVE heard of them breaking, but, I can count the number of occurrences on one hand..... over a LOT of years.

 

As mentioned, I considered it relatively cheap insurance, since I'm in there doing the maintenance and parts replacements myself, so no added labor costs. I'd say that its in the same category with the timing chain tensioner (link below):

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/dc...FWQOOgodW30AnQ