How to Install the Nissan Altima Oil Pump

by Zyon Silket

The oil pump used in the Nissan Altima is a sump pump that secures to the oil pickup tube inside the oil pan. To get to the oil pump so you can replace it, you must remove the oil pan from the engine. This makes the job somewhat labor intensive and time-consuming. However, if you continue to drive your Altima with a failing oil pump, you will cause catastrophic damage to your engine.

Step 1

Drive the Nissan Altima onto a set of ramps. Shut off the engine and secure the parking brake.

Step 2

Open the engine hood and remove the oil filler cap and oil dipstick.

Step 3

Remove the drain plug from the oil pan using a socket and ratchet and drain the engine oil into a drain pan. Close the oil plug once drained.

Step 4

Remove the bolts that secure the oil pan to the bottom of the Altima's engine block using a socket and ratchet.

Step 5

Wedge a metal scraper between the oil pan and the engine block and break the seal between the two. Remove the oil pan from the engine.

Step 6

Unplug the wiring harness from the oil pump.

Step 7

Loosen the jam nut on the oil pickup tube using an adjustable wrench and then turn the oil pump counterclockwise to unscrew it from the tube.

Step 8

Thread the new oil pump onto the pickup tube and secure it using the jam nut.

Step 9

Plug the wiring harness into the oil pump.

Step 10

Clean the old gasket and oil off the mating surfaces of the engine block and oil pan using the metal scraper and shop towels.

Step 11

Place the new gasket onto the oil pan and place the oil pan against the bottom of the engine block. Secure the pan to the engine block using the bolts, socket and ratchet. Tighten the bolts in an alternating pattern from one side of the pan to the next.

Step 12

Place a funnel into the oil filler spout and pour four quarts of engine oil into the engine.

Step 13

Place the cap back onto the oil filler spout and place the dipstick back into the dipstick tube. Close the hood, release the parking brake and back the car off the ramps.

References

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