oil pump, cat conv, and oil pan replacement

I have a '96 3.8L 125k miles that needs new converter and replacement of the oil pan gasket. Since I will be dropping the pan, I'm thinking of replacing the oil pump as well. Is the installation of the oil pump straight forward? Any tips on the project (cat converter, oil pan gasket, and oil pump) is appreciated.

I am not sure of why you would need to replace the oil pump, although I would check the pickup tube screen and clean it if needed.
The oil pump is mounted on the "front cover", aka timing chain cover.
There have been problems with oil pressure / flow posted that were a result of the oil pump pickup tube screen being clogged with junk.
You will need to follow a repair manual's instructions if you replace the oil pump....I seem to remember instructions to pack it with petrolium jelly.....and lining things up, etc.

To drop the oil pan, you have to remove the "Y" pipe, which includes both catalytic converters.
I have a picture or so of the "Y" pipe assembly, original, and the Walker brand "direct fit" replacement.

The best "Y" pipe would be OEM, which I found at about $1200 at the cheapest.
I bought the Walker "direct fit" unit for about $321 from Rock Auto, and it has been fine for about 4 years so far.
I moved my 4 oxygen sensors from the old unit to the new one.
Soak all the bolts with a penetrating oil like PBlaster......and let is soak for a good 3 hours minimum.
Use extreme care with penatrating oil around the oxygen sensors.....only just a little on the threads...no penetrating oil up on the body or where the wires go in at the top.
Important to soak the 2 nuts that hold the Y pipe to each exhaust manifold studs.

If you decide to use new oxygen sensors, I would recommend Motorcraft brand.....and the most critical are the upstream sensors (upstream from the converter).
The downstream sensors ONLY monitor the converters to make sure that they are working, and do not switch at the higher speeds that are required of the upstream sensors.
I replaced my upstream sensors at about 160K miles.....and did not notice any change in engine performance or fuel economy.


Support the flex pipe at the front with wire to keep it from dangling, which would damage it.
I needed to buy a couple bolts with nuts for the flex pipe connection, as the OEM Y pipe unit had studs and the Walker did not......just holes for the bolts.
That is just a well, as the studs could be rusty.....so you end up with new hardware.

I have not dropped my oil pan, so I don't have any advice to give on that other than to clean to oil pickup screen.

From all the reserch I did when I was working with low oil PSI on my 96, you need to drop the motor to replace that front cover/oilpump. I would want to REALY make sure you need it first!

My low psi turned out to be worn bearings. I did a quicky in car rebearing, and has worked fine for the last 15K. Still have the new oil pump on the shelf. No way I was going to drop the motor!!

Wiswind & s1120, thank you for your inputs!

I now have the Walker Cat Converter and oil pan RTV gasket kit to start the job. Since the oil pump is not readily accessible, I decided to not to do it. The dealer wanted $91.00 for the 10 bolts and nuts. I about fell over, so I did not get it. I will just have to find a replacement at Autozone or somewhere. The RTV requires you to finish the job in 10 minutes once the RTV is applied. This will be an Olympic event considering the number of bolts that have to be torque once I have them in position.

Wiswind & s1120, thank you for your inputs!

I now have the Walker Cat Converter and oil pan RTV gasket kit to start the job. Since the oil pump is not readily accessible, I decided to not to do it. The dealer wanted $91.00 for the 10 bolts and nuts. I about fell over, so I did not get it. I will just have to find a replacement at Autozone or somewhere. The RTV requires you to finish the job in 10 minutes once the RTV is applied. This will be an Olympic event considering the number of bolts that have to be torque once I have them in position.


The oil pan is cake. Once that front pipe is out of the way, you will have no problem getting that pan up there.

S1120, what do mean quick in car rebearing to increase low psi (oil – I assume)?

S1120, what do mean quick in car rebearing to increase low psi (oil – I assume)?


LOL well my 3.8 had the oil light flicker on when warm. So I assumed it had a bad pump so I dropped the pan. Well popped the caps off and found WICKED worn bearings. Well this is a low budget car for me, so I got some new bearings and instaled new rod bearings, and two of the mains. Its not the right way to do it, and I dont recomend it, but there was no way I was going to drop the motor out, and I needed it running. I got all the rods done, and on two mains I could roll the upper bearing in. The others I could not, so I just hopped it would work.[and it has I got like 20k on it sence then]


So agean. Its kinda the butcher way, and I took a risk, but I lucked out the the crank was fine, and it worked.

LOL well my 3.8 had the oil light flicker on when warm. So I assumed it had a bad pump so I dropped the pan. Well popped the caps off and found WICKED worn bearings. Well this is a low budget car for me, so I got some new bearings and instaled new rod bearings, and two of the mains. Its not the right way to do it, and I dont recomend it, but there was no way I was going to drop the motor out, and I needed it running. I got all the rods done, and on two mains I could roll the upper bearing in. The others I could not, so I just hopped it would work.[and it has I got like 20k on it sence then]


So agean. Its kinda the butcher way, and I took a risk, but I lucked out the the crank was fine, and it worked.
I seen this done many many times and have done it on 4cyl motors. Able to get on 4cyl all rod bearings upper and lower but did pull the head so I could push the pistons up all the way and change the rings. And as far as I know its still running. Thats been about 15yrs now. I see it around from time to time. Old 81 nissan 4cyl truck it had about 123,000 miles back then. But on the Windstar I can see this being a pain..yep cheap improper way to rebuild,but seem to last longer than people who paid thousands for a better rebuild. Wonder which is better.. LOL..

Lbert

I replaced my rod bearings on my 95 at 177,000 miles. On startup I heard rod noise until oil psi built up. #6 rod was the worst and down to copper. #5 was showing some copper. I now have 227,000+ and am hearing a bit of noise on startup. Make sure you tork the nuts and keep the cap on the same direction you take it off.

Regards

Dan

It amazes me how some do just replacement rebuilds such as rod bearings.In other words fix that one problem in the engine and it still works. Look at Lesabre97mint 227,000 + and still going. I know guys that pay big bucks to get there engines replaced or rebuilt and a year or so down the road they opt to do the same because of a worn out motor again..My dad years ago would take a old VW bug and a cylinder would go. Instead of rebuilding the whole thing he would buy a piston and rings and maybe if bad a rod. spend about 20.00 and get me and my uncle who was a mechanic pull the motor split the case and replace that one thing. My uncle use to complain that was a lot of work just to replace one piston and rod.. But the dang thing would last forever it seem.. He always had 2 one that ran the other for parts. LOL He drove that thing 25 mile one way to work each day. No telling how many miles were on it. Speedo went out years before. Always went as fast as car up front..LOL

The job is done. Thank you for everyone's input.

I found repalcement bolts and nuts for $4.00 at Autozone for the flex pipe connector. In addition, I had to get a new flex pipe gasket for $4.00. Scrapping of the RTV gasket was a pain and laborious. I took me over an hour to scape the RTV off the engine and the oil pan. The Walker cat now cost $350. The pipe bends are not Mandrel bent unlike the oem so it was a bit of a dissappoinment. Also it does not have a much heat shield and the mounting bracket is not to the same quality as the oem. I'm hoping the insides of the cat are well made. Time will tell how long it will hold up. Nevertheless it is at least a lot cheaper than the oem. The mounting bracket is about 1/2 forward so I'm not able to bolt it on. Now I need to go to a muffler shop to have it moved for I do not a welding capability. At least the manufacturer will reimburse the cost of the remounting of the bracket. Nevertheless it is an inconvenience for me.

I have been told that OEM is the best quality for Catalytic Converter internals, but that Walker is about the best of the aftermarket brands.

I was lucky that the bracket lined up, I had trouble getting the front exhaust manifold connection made.
I learned that it is best to just barely thread the nuts on for exhaust manifold connections....leaving everything loose, and then, once all the bolts and nuts are in place to go around and tighten them up.

Wiswind, that is exactly what I did. I found it was easier to first line up the the mid connector pipe then line up the front connector. After this, connect the flex pipe connection and mounting bracket. When all are in position, fully torque all the nuts and bolts.

Muffler shop charged $20.00 to realign the bracket.

Wiswind, thank you for help. It made the job easier.

Ya, scraping all that sealer off was a PITA. I had to replace the pan on mine[live in the northeast. Rusted out] so that saved me a ton of work.