The objective of this study is to model and simulate the nonlinear lubrication performance of the sliding part between the piston and cylinder wall in a hydrostatic swash-plate-type axial piston pump. A numerical algorithm is developed that facilitates simultaneous calculation of the rotating body motion and fluid film pressure to observe the fluid film geometry and power loss. It is assumed that solid asperity contact, so-called mixed lubrication in this study, invariably occurs in the swash-plate-type axial piston pump, which produces a higher lateral moment on the pistons than other types of hydrostatic machines. Two comparative mixed lubrication models, rigid and elastic, are used to determine the reaction force and sliding friction. The rigid model does not allow any elastic deformation in the partial lubrication area. The patch shapes, reactive forces, and virtual local elastic deformation in the partial lubrication area are obtained in the elastic contact model using a simple Hertz contact theory. The calculation results show that a higher reaction force and friction loss are obtained in the rigid model, indicating that solid deformation is a significant factor on the lubrication characteristics of the reciprocating piston part.