The oil pump is the heart of your engine as it is used to force pressurised oil to various essential moving parts. The Giulia oil pump is a complete aluminium casting with a detachable pickup/strainer which house a pair of gears. In general pump life is excellent providing the engine is looked after with regular oil and filter changes but many older classic Alfas are bordering on forty years old and, as one would expect, oil pumps are showing signs of general tiredness and wear. Since 2001 genuine oil pumps have been in short supply since Alfa Romeo ran out of stock, and as so often happens, various makers of non-original pumps took this as a sign of diminishing demand---hence the crippling shortage that has forced owners to resort to re-fitting the old pump or having to look for a decent secondhand unit. The fitting of an old or secondhand pump is decidedly risky because failure would inevitably wreck the engine.