Oil pump change

I have a friend that has had a shop tell her she needs a new oil pump on her 99 taurus and to do this the engine has to be removed from the car, is this true?
since I'm not versed in taurus's I thought I'd refer to the experts.
I would greatly appreciate info on this.

Without looking at the repair book, I would think the engine may have to be raised at the very least to access the pump,,, having to remove the engine, if need be, is going to tack on some serious extra $$$$... make sure whoever does it is familiar with the project

"I have a friend that has had a shop tell her she needs a new oil pump on her 99 taurus . . . ."
Very sparse info to work with here and based on what we know replacing the oil pump doesn't work for me. How many miles on it and was she getting a low oil presure light or what? Oil pressure sending switches and gauges can go bad, but rarely do we hear of oil pump replaclement.

First do a pressure test on an oil galley or where the oil pressure sending unit screws in. If the pressure test confirms low oil pressure the oil pump screen could be clogged and if the pressure test is good the sending unit or gauge is 'prolly bad. If the engine is ratling or knocking could be it needs new bearings and past the pump replacement stage.

"and to do this the engine has to be removed from the car, is this true?" I'd ask the local For dealer about that and at the same time what they charge for a diagnostic report and let them tell you what the problem is then go from there. I'm curious; why did it go to the shop, how many miles on it and some maintenance history, mainly, has it had regular oil and filter changes every 5,000 miles? If the check engine light (CEL) is on did they pull the OBD codes?

Per the service manual, if she has a 3.0L, 12V Vulcan engine, the procedure does not require removing the engine from the car. Doesn't even hint that the procedure would be any easier with the engine out. In fact, the oil pump replacement is listed in the "In-vehicle service" section of the manual.

On the 3.0L 24V Duratech and SHO engines, it's not so clear whether or not the engine needs to be removed to replace the pump. There are steps for replacing the oil pump screen and inlet tube in the "in-vehicle service" section, but not the pump itself. I was not able to quickly find the procedures for replacing the pump on these engines.

-Rod

"Per the service manual, if she has a 3.0L, 12V Vulcan engine, the procedure does not require removing the engine from the car. Doesn't even hint that the procedure would be any easier with the engine out. In fact, the oil pump replacement is listed in the "In-vehicle service" section of the manual."

Hmmmm . . . For some reason it made my ears perk up and sort'a - kind'a made me think somebody is pulllin' somebodys laig takin' out the engine. Can you say, ripoff?

I'm anxious to learn why they took it to the shop in the first place. I bet you a dollar to a doughnut it was one of two things; Oil light came on or engine rattling/knocking. Oil light, change the pressure switch. Engine rattling, OUCH!