2007 CX9 Low Oil Pressure After Warm Up

[AtMc]

Greetings - Just looking for some advice.

Have a 2007 CX9 GT with 210k miles (original owner). Its been a reasonably good car for us. An issue developed with getting a low pressure warning light after warm up (10 - 15 minutes). Changed oil & filter, but the problem remained. Took the car to my mechanic and we replaced the pressure sender due to the old one leaking a bit and thinking it might be the cause, but the low pressure warning still comes on after warm up. Mechanic took another look before a deep dive and says that between 2k & 3k rpms the engine is making a knocking noise. Now concerned it could be a rod bearing or something similar causing the low oil pressure and is hesitant to recommend doing anything because of the cost vs. value of the car. Any older CX9 owners with the 3.5 V6 faced a similar sounding problem? Thoughts?

 

[Bronco Boy]

Check the oil pressure with a proper oil pressure gauge to make sure, but it sounds like the engine is toast and will need to be replaced.

 

[PTguy]

Have the mechanic take the oil pan off. If there are shiny bits of metal in the bottom, the engine is now a boat anchor. The knocking noise is a real bad sign. If the sump is full of sludge and the oil pick up clogged, it can be cleaned, but if this is the case the lack of oil probably doomed the engine. The low oil pressure is likely due to excessive clearances in the bearings due to wear.

Unless a decent used 2007 (or similar from other years) engine can be found, and the water pump changed while it is out, the car isn't worth the cost of a new engine. Sorry, it's scrap.