Just picked up a 2001 LS650.  It was a Ebay rolling frame and the seller threw in the dead engine.  The Frame is almost showroom condition. Well, the engine isn't showroom ......

The problem w/engine was a melted piston.  I saw a picture somewhere here of almost exactly what mine looks like.  

So, here's the question for the forum:  Do you think the oil pump should be replaced while I have the engine apart????  Do they go bad???  Does anyone make a replacement with a little more pressure??  Maybe 10-20 psi verse the 7-10 psi the service manual calls for.

Thanks in advance for any advice.......

VROOM1776,
   Thanks.  I was debating buying one or not.  I was leaning torwards just doing it.

T-Mack1
   

Update,
  Got some advice from the salvage yard owner when I picked up a replacement head (old one had a bad cam journal).  He said pump most likely is ok.  He said the problem the Savages have is the passageways.  Not enough oil pressure to push thru.  He's the son of the founder of the yard (motorcycles only) and has been around bikes all his forty some years.   I've been told by my good friend who grew up with him to trust what he says.   Any thoughts from the forum???

  I'm still in the process of cleaning. Passage ways look fairly nice but I will say the residual oil in the pump was black.    I did get the oil pump apart.  The little phillips screw came out easily, even through the service manual says it's glue in.  Pump look very nice.  Does anyone know the spec for clearances??  I did a quick look in the service manual but didn't see any.  Will look again tonight after reading some Harry Potter to my son.

Also, plan to replace the cam chian since engine is taken apart.  Old chian is at ~127 @ 10460 miles.  Does anyone know what a new chain measures????  If not, I'll post when I get the new one.

Next question, and it may sound odd.  For the cylinder, once we cleaned off the embedded melted aluminum with a solid machinist hone and before we honded out the scrathces, the cylinder measure a tiny bit under the factory spec.  So..., do you think the melted psiton could be from a overheated piston that grew in a cylinder that was on the small side of the spec???  I think the black oil didn't help either.

  After honing out the scratches, looks like we are just over the std piston spec.   A 0.5mm O.S. piston is on order.

T-Mack1

Your yard guy is right,  the passageway is the problem.
An (internaly) leaking clutchcover gasket cold be the problem.
The crankshaft gets its oil from a long way:
oilpump, then trough the clutch-cover to the filter. Then the oil goes 2 ways: one to the crankshaft, there is a oilseal in wich the crankshaft turns, the other flow goes up to the passage on top of the clutch cover. on the back is a little oiljet to build-up pressure for the head.
You see, there's lots of places where the inexperience mechanic can make a mistake.
Have fun rebuilding your engine, I'm doing the same at the moment with my spare engine.