Had the 97 shut down on the wife and kids at the end of last week... water got into the ECU. This morning, after a few days of cleaning/drying/cleaning it the truck started right up! So, I took it to work this a.m. about 15 miles into the commute, the oil light flickers (never a prior issue) and i stop at a station, check the oil and add a 1/2 quart. Started up, light goes out. About 4 more miles up the freeway the oil light comes on and stays on!!!! In the 1/4 mile it took to get safely off the road and shut off, i start getting a stutter, misfire and lurch. :banghead: I'm expecting the worst (bearings cooked). The dip stick tube was smoking when I rechecked the oil level, so I'm assuming that the oil was no longer circulating. Where is the oil pump located on the block? If I cooked the bearings how screwed am I?

 

Man, is this week the week for oil pump failuer or what?
How many miles on the truck? What grade of gas are you using? What motor oil are you using, brand and weight? When was it last changed and by who?
The oil pump is housed in the front cover of the engine.
Sounds like you caught it in time, have it looked at, you may only need a new oil pump.

 

do i have to pull the radiator and such in order get to the pump or is it an easy access item? oil gets swapped every 7k, has 126,000 miles on it and there were no noises prior to the light coming on and getting it pulled over.

 

Every 7,000 miles? What grade of gas are you using? Full synthetic oil or dino lube?

 

yes... 7k miles. synth

 

On that engine, every 5000 miles on synthetic, 3000 on dino lube.

 

fine, that isn't the issue right now. i need to get my rig on the road again. are oil pump failures common for these rigs?

 

I agree, even though LR recommends 7,500 miles between oil changes that is WAY to long.
You still havent said what kind of gas you were using, if you were using regular you sludged up the engine, between the wrong gas and the to long oil changes you probally sludged the hell out of the engine and that caused your failuer.
No you do not need to remove the radiator, but you will have to remove the water pump and the crank pully.
www.atlanticbritish.com has all theparts that you'll need.

 

i use 91 octane

 

No oil pump problems are NOT common with these trucks, I have 174,000 miles on my '97 and it runs like a top. I use Mobil 1 and change it every 5,000 miles.
I have never replaced a oil pump on one of these so I do not know how hard it is.
Once you get it going again do not go over 5,000 miles on your oil changes.
Good luck.