I know this is a little long but want to make sure you guys know what is going on so, here goes.

I have a pair of 350 Mag MPI's in my Formula 292.
Boat is a 2002 and engines have 500 hrs on them now.

They have both been strong running motors until 4th of July when the starboard motor started acting up.

Everything was fine for the first 2 hours or so then as we were idleing through a no wake zone, the alarms went off.
I had 20PSI oil pressure in both and temps were normal. None of the lights in the gauges were on so I bumped the throttle on port motor and had power and tried the same with starboard one and found that this is the one with the problem.

Shut it down popped the hatch, didn't see anything out of the ordinary and started it back up. Gauges were fine again and alarm wen't off about a minute or so later.

This went on a couple times until I got out to a open area where I didn't have to worry about hitting anybody.

Drive res. was full, oil level was fine and gauge is working, temp was fine, etc.

Brought it home, put the hoses to it and ran for 35 minutes and alarm went off again. Found some debris in the drain on the right exhaust manifold, cleaned it out and fired it back up for 40 minutes at idle and everything was fine.

Splash it in the lake following morning and ran around for 30-40 minutes and alarm goes off again.

I shut it down got it back on the trailer and dropped it off at the marina so they could take a look at it Monday.

Here is where it gets interesting. The marina checks it out the following Friday and says that the oil pick up tube for the pump came off and they send me an estimate for $2,800 to pull motor, replace bearings, pump, etc.

They said they sucked 3/4 of a quart out and the alarms went off again and the gauge finally dropped to 0. They then filled it back to normal and added a quart and a half and said it ran fine again. So this is where they say it is the pick up tube that is out.

I decide to go over and take a look at the engine since they gave me an estimate and when I get there, they havent even pulled the motor yet but tell me that they just had one of these motors do the same thing a month or so ago and that is what it cost to fix that one.

So they finally pull the motor today and I show up again un announced to check things out and see that the pick up tube is still firmly in place and they tell me that the pump just took a crap and that is what the problem is.

I may not know alot about engines but I do know some and if the gauge is still reading fine and has pressure but the alarm is going off, doesn't this sound more like a sending unit issue instead of a pump problem?

This just is not making sense to me.

I don't know if they checked the sending unit but I will be looking to see if there is a new one in there when I get he call saying it is ready to be picked up.

Is it worth it to have them pull the other engine and replace that pump as well?

The bearings, crank, and everything else looks good in the one that is tore apart right now but I will have them put new bearings in while we are at this point.

Are the sending units for the gauge and computer on the back of the motor at the original oil filter location?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like your getting some major smoke blown up your azz. Take it somewhere else!!

Sounds like a bunch of parts changers

I am thinking the same thing at this point.

i have never seen an oil pump fail. i have seen them crack when they have had trash run thru them but never seen one that is intact simply stop pumping oil. as stated above... i too think your guys are wrong but i'm not sure i would just plunk it back in without having an answer i believed in, either.

one thing does stand out tho... they said the got about a quart out so they surmised the pick up broken... a good guess... two things... is it possible you were just way down on oil ( unlikely ) or is this like that thread of a week ago where , as you have guessed, the wire to the sending unit was loose... but that would not explain the 1 quart deal...

Ok, I'm a little lost from the post..sorry, but did the gauge ever show low/no oil pressure ?? with you..I have seen oil pump relief valve stick one time and resulted in no oil pressure after changing oil..if you always had oil pressure and only the alarm was going off sounds like a bad sending unit for the alarm, they are differnt from the gauge...

All other details aside, the fact still remains that they told you the pickup tube was broken before they had even pulled the engine out of the boat!

Then you saw with your own eyes the tube that was not broken. That being said I wouldnt trust any thing they tell you at all.

RRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!!!!!!! from those thieves.

If the pickup tube fell out, it would be exactly the same as if you were drinking a soda and someone took the straw. No matter how hard you sucked or for how long, you're only going to suck air. Now, if you put 4 or 5 gallons into the crankcase- enough to rise up and reach the pump, it would draw again- but only then.

Plus, if you ran this engine on any sort of load for mere moments without oil pressure, you would have certainly spun a rod bearing... at a minimum. That would be indicated by a loud knocking noise.

The pump "taking a crap" is insane. The oil pump in a small block Chevy is more reliable than a claw hammer. The SBC motor needs little oil pressure to live.

And $2800 about double what the R&R on an engine and replacing a pump should cost. If the pump did go bad and it needs "bearings", it also needs the crank turned and all the metal shavings removed. Basically, a rebuild.

The oil pressure gauge in the dash never dropped to 0 until they they sucked about 3/4 of a quart out.

These engines never use oil and I check them every time I put it in the water.

If I am not mistaken there are 2 sending units for oil. One for the gauge and 1 for the buzzer. I would replace the sending unit for the buzzer before you repair the motor.

Hate to say it but I think you are throwing money away since when the buzzer went off the oil did not go low. There are a number of items that cause the buzzer to go off. Could be anyone of them besides oil pressure. I wonder what they are going to say after they get done with the engine and buzzer goes off again.