[SammYyYyY]

Hey all!

I have a 2018 ZL1 1LE that I purchased back in June of 2022 and have absolutely been loving. I’m currently sitting at about 7,700 miles (I bought the car with 3,800 miles). The car has been in storage for the winter, but one thing has been on my mind and I’m trying to weigh my options on the smartest way to approach it: the dreaded oil pump.

Being a 2018, I am terrified at the notion of a failed oil pump destroying my motor. I would like to get the Katech wet sump oil pump installed as soon as I pull the car out for the next season, but I don’t know where to start. I’m having a hard time finding consistent answers on how labor intensive the process is and how much is it going to cost. I figure that I might be better off upgrading the cam while they are in there, but don’t even know where to start with that (the car is 100% bone stock as it sits).

Any insight would be fantastic; if anybody can provide insight on the average cost of the replacement, any good shops in the Salt Lake City area to do the work, any upgrades I should make while they are in there, any of this would be much appreciated.

[Schlok]

Can't speak to what is near SLC but oil pump replacement, I believe, is quoted at around 5k for parts and labor to do...I am pretty sure I read that here from someone. It is a big job to undertake.

[Vigilante375]

Originally Posted by SammYyYyY

Hey all!

I have a 2018 ZL1 1LE that I purchased back in June of 2022 and have absolutely been loving. I’m currently sitting at about 7,700 miles (I bought the car with 3,800 miles). The car has been in storage for the winter, but one thing has been on my mind and I’m trying to weigh my options on the smartest way to approach it: the dreaded oil pump.

Being a 2018, I am terrified at the notion of a failed oil pump destroying my motor. I would like to get the Katech wet sump oil pump installed as soon as I pull the car out for the next season, but I don’t know where to start. I’m having a hard time finding consistent answers on how labor intensive the process is and how much is it going to cost. I figure that I might be better off upgrading the cam while they are in there, but don’t even know where to start with that (the car is 100% bone stock as it sits).

Any insight would be fantastic; if anybody can provide insight on the average cost of the replacement, any good shops in the Salt Lake City area to do the work, any upgrades I should make while they are in there, any of this would be much appreciated.

It is labor intensive as the whole front end has to come out and cost's a couple thousand including the cost of the pump. That's why people only really do it if they are planning on doing something else.

My 2018 has over 33k miles, all by me, and has been tracked regularly and driven spiritly with no sign of the oil pump failing.

I don't remember the dates for the oil pump failure so maybe someone can chime in with that. You can find your car's build date by looking at the sticker in the driver's side door jam.

Of course it's your money and your peace of mind so do what you want but if you're not seeing any issues then why spend the money that can go towards something else.

[LT4Greg]

My 2017 has over 26,000 miles and so far no issues with the oil pump. I do let mine warm up though even in the hotter months especially after sitting overnight and don’t romp on it until I see the higher temperature degrees on the gauge. I am keeping my fingers crossed too hoping it doesn’t go out and yes it is a big expensive job from what I have heard thru mechanic friends.

[Katech_Zach]

The oil pump typically does not "spontaneously" fail. The engine asks for 30 PSI of oil pressure at idle. The first stage of the failure is a "half failure" where you don't lose all oil pressure, but you lose a chunk of it. If your idle oil pressure ever falls to 20~ PSI, then you need to start being concerned.

If you spot check your idle oil temp when warmed up and it is 30, you have nothing to worry about currently.

Hope this helps

[taylorforschool@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by Katech_Zach

The oil pump typically does not "spontaneously" fail. The engine asks for 30 PSI of oil pressure at idle. The first stage of the failure is a "half failure" where you don't lose all oil pressure, but you lose a chunk of it. If your idle oil pressure ever falls to 20~ PSI, then you need to start being concerned.

If you spot check your idle oil temp when warmed up and it is 30, you have nothing to worry about currently.

Hope this helps

Helps a lot, you guys have helped a lot with your chiming in on topics lately. It is much appreciated from those of us with not a ton of knowledge. Look forward to any future posts from you and Mike

[ChadSZL1]

Wait to change the oil pump until you do cam/heads. I did mine all at the same time as the labor is about the same cost. When you change your pump use Katech best pump around!

[SammYyYyY]

Thank you all for your valuable insight!

I called a local reputable shop today and I was quoted ~$4,500 all-in, parts and labor. If I'm going to be paying that much for labor I definitely would like to wait until I want to do heads/cam at the same time.

Has there been any consistent documentation on build dates correlating to failed oil pumps? The build date for my ZLE is 01/2018, I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not, but that seems to be a later build date than most cases I have read about with failed oil pumps on 2018 MY cars.

[SOCAL.M6.ZLE]

Originally Posted by SammYyYyY

Hey all!

I have a 2018 ZL1 1LE that I purchased back in June of 2022 and have absolutely been loving. I’m currently sitting at about 7,700 miles (I bought the car with 3,800 miles). The car has been in storage for the winter, but one thing has been on my mind and I’m trying to weigh my options on the smartest way to approach it: the dreaded oil pump.

Being a 2018, I am terrified at the notion of a failed oil pump destroying my motor. I would like to get the Katech wet sump oil pump installed as soon as I pull the car out for the next season, but I don’t know where to start. I’m having a hard time finding consistent answers on how labor intensive the process is and how much is it going to cost. I figure that I might be better off upgrading the cam while they are in there, but don’t even know where to start with that (the car is 100% bone stock as it sits).

Any insight would be fantastic; if anybody can provide insight on the average cost of the replacement, any good shops in the Salt Lake City area to do the work, any upgrades I should make while they are in there, any of this would be much appreciated.

Hey there... I know the feeling, which is why I upgraded mine even on my 2022, while i had the motor out of the car. Your situation is a bit different, and would be nice to know what your long term plans are for the car, and your budget. Example; option.1 - if your goals were to keep the car stock, then i would follow Katech's advice and simply keep an eye on the gauge, and repair later, if it even becomes an issue, which it may not. option.2 - If you already had plans to cam the car, then 100% of the labor to swap the pump cam be applied to the cam swap also. Once the motor is out of the car, there are alot of upgrades that become easier and cheaper while everything is taken apart... my mod list is the perfect example. Hope that helps.

[pauly1119]

Originally Posted by SammYyYyY

Thank you all for your valuable insight!

I called a local reputable shop today and I was quoted ~$4,500 all-in, parts and labor. If I'm going to be paying that much for labor I definitely would like to wait until I want to do heads/cam at the same time.

Has there been any consistent documentation on build dates correlating to failed oil pumps? The build date for my ZLE is 01/2018, I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not, but that seems to be a later build date than most cases I have read about with failed oil pumps on 2018 MY cars.

I have a 18 ZLE also but I’m not as concerned as most are about the pump however I do plan on keeping the car long term so when my warranty is up in a little over 2 years my plan was to do heads/Cam/headers so it would be silly not to do it then. My build is 7/18 with just over 6k miles.

[m6-lt1]

You might just be able to get an extended warranty for less than the cost of the oil pump replacement. If you’re not planning on keeping the car forever I’d go that route. If not I would just bite the bullet and replace the pump. Sucks Chevy just didn’t get it right the first time. Imo an oil pump should be something auto manufacturers get right the first time after years of engineering them by 2017. Because of this when it’s time for me to upgrade to a zl1 I’m only going to be looking at 19+ (and I’ll admit the slight infotainment upgrades are nice).

[BunnyBoy]

I have 12/16 build date with 36000 with good PSI. I fear my time maybe coming. I should just order a Katech pump now.

[pauly1119]

Originally Posted by m6-lt1

You might just be able to get an extended warranty for less than the cost of the oil pump replacement. If you’re not planning on keeping the car forever I’d go that route. If not I would just bite the bullet and replace the pump. Sucks Chevy just didn’t get it right the first time. Imo an oil pump should be something auto manufacturers get right the first time after years of engineering them by 2017. Because of this when it’s time for me to upgrade to a zl1 I’m only going to be looking at 19+ (and I’ll admit the slight infotainment upgrades are nice).

GM won’t write extensions anymore on cars over 36 months old. Would have to be some aftermarket warranty company. I would only do it with the platinum plan. I recently tried to add more time to my 25 months remaining and GM won’t allow it. I tried on 2 different cars and was told they won’t do it anymore. Even asked if I cancelled the plans I have with no refund and added new ones and was told no.

[4skidmarks]

Originally Posted by Katech_Zach

The oil pump typically does not "spontaneously" fail. The engine asks for 30 PSI of oil pressure at idle. The first stage of the failure is a "half failure" where you don't lose all oil pressure, but you lose a chunk of it. If your idle oil pressure ever falls to 20~ PSI, then you need to start being concerned.

If you spot check your idle oil temp when warmed up and it is 30, you have nothing to worry about currently.

Hope this helps

Katech Zach knows!

I wished I would have read up on oil pump failures..... I remember seeing my idle (hot) oil pressure around 20 psi before mine let go. Seemed low, but I had no clue. I'm not sure how long before I saw it, but it had to have been a few hundred miles and at least 2 track days.

What I thought was weird was that my telemetry showed higher oil pressure (min & max) during my last track session of the day, just before it let go, compared to the first 3 sessions (which were all the same). Maybe pieces of the pump plugging the galleries????