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Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
Hey, I recently got my first xj, a 2000 sport 2WD, 4.0, automatic transmission. Ever since I got it, the oil pressure gauge has shown around 10 psi constantly while the vehicle is running. Both in idle, and throughout rpms and gears. Hot and cold. It’s always around 10 psi. When the vehicle is not running, the gauge goes all the way down like it should. I got my oil changed recently, 10w30 high mileage, but it didn’t change anything as far as the gauge goes. No alert lights for anything. I’m wondering what I can do to fix this. Thanks for your help!
Does a mechanical gauge show the same thing?, are the lifters making any noise?
Honestly, is the oil pressure the problem or the measuring device (OEM elec gauge)
I installed a "T" off the oil port and installed a mechanical and the factory sending unit for break-in of the new engine. The mech gauge showed ~25 at hot idle (after break-in) while the dash gauge showed 80 psi,,
Screw in a $20 mech gauge and see what the true pressure is,, and if the problem is the engine or the factory gauge.
Hey, I recently got my first xj, a 2000 sport 2WD, 4.0, automatic transmission. Ever since I got it, the oil pressure gauge has shown around 10 psi constantly while the vehicle is running. Both in idle, and throughout rpms and gears. Hot and cold. It’s always around 10 psi. When the vehicle is not running, the gauge goes all the way down like it should. I got my oil changed recently, 10w30 high mileage, but it didn’t change anything as far as the gauge goes. No alert lights for anything. I’m wondering what I can do to fix this. Thanks for your help!
You or a mechanic need to check with a known good gage to see if your low pressure is a real problem or not. Or alternatly test the sender or gage for fault. the senders do fail. the connector can go bad. these a easy to test with an ohm meter, easy to replace, (but use great care to not over tighten them, tappered thread as I recall, easy to strip the thread on the engine!)
Examining and testing the sendor and its wire are the first thing Id do.
my guess is a gage error rather than a real problem as the 10 psi you say does not change regardless of temperature or rpm of motor, sounds like a not real reading, as Id expect it to vary a bit even if very low. But you NEED to find out for sure, and NEED a working gags. This is important. So give the sender and its wire connector a look over, it is usually the problem when the gage goes wacky do to its exposure, high heat location.
You or a mechanic need to check with a known good gage to see if your low pressure is a real problem or not. Or alternatly test the sender or gage for fault. the senders do fail. the connector can go bad. these a easy to test with an ohm meter, easy to replace, (but use great care to not over tighten them, tappered thread as I recall, easy to strip the thread on the engine!)
Examining and testing the sendor and its wire are the first thing Id do.
my guess is a gage error rather than a real problem as the 10 psi you say does not change regardless of temperature or rpm of motor, sounds like a not real reading, as Id expect it to vary a bit even if very low. But you NEED to find out for sure, and NEED a working gags. This is important. So give the sender and its wire connector a look over, it is usually the problem when the gage goes wacky do to its exposure, high heat location.
good luck
Ill be replacing the sender and connector later this week, once the parts arrive. If that doesn’t help the problem then I’ll get a mechanical gauge and see what that says and go from there. Thanks for the help!
Ill be replacing the sender and connector later this week, once the parts arrive. If that doesn’t help the problem then I’ll get a mechanical gauge and see what that says and go from there. Thanks for the help!
You should check first anyway.
Figure it this way.
You have to remove the sensor to hook up the mechanical gauge.
With an '00 or '01, cause of the 0331 head issue, it is always best to know what a mechanical one will read.
No sense doing it twice.
If you want to be real thorough you can do what I did.
Plumb in some fittings so you can use both at the same time.
See what the cluster reads in relation to the mechanical gauge.
That is the reading on my '00 at a very hot idle. Pretty much what the cluster gauge said.
Now theoretically I can attach a mechanical gauge anytime I want with this set up.
But I used thread sealant when putting in the fittings.
No idea how easy, or difficult, getting the cap off the one port will be to hook the mechanical gauge back up if I want to. LOL.
You should check first anyway.
Figure it this way.
You have to remove the sensor to hook up the mechanical gauge.
With an '00 or '01, cause of the 0331 head issue, it is always best to know what a mechanical one will read.
No sense doing it twice.
If you want to be real thorough you can do what I did.
Plumb in some fittings so you can use both at the same time.
See what the cluster reads in relation to the mechanical gauge.
That is the reading on my '00 at a very hot idle. Pretty much what the cluster gauge said.
Now theoretically I can attach a mechanical gauge anytime I want with this set up.
But I used thread sealant when putting in the fittings.
No idea how easy, or difficult, getting the cap off the one port will be to hook the mechanical gauge back up if I want to. LOL.
wow, thanks for saying that. I was actually unaware of the 0331 head issue until you mentioned it. I really like what you did with the fittings allowing both the sender and a mechanical gauge, and plan on implementing that as well. After doing some research into the 0331 head issues I’m planning on getting it looked at and possibly replacing the head with a TUPY head for the peace of mind and safety. Thanks for your help so far, I’ll keep you updated here. If there’s anything else you think I should know, or have any other advice/suggestions, please let me know!
Does a mechanical gauge show the same thing?, are the lifters making any noise?
Honestly, is the oil pressure the problem or the measuring device (OEM elec gauge)
I installed a "T" off the oil port and installed a mechanical and the factory sending unit for break-in of the new engine. The mech gauge showed ~25 at hot idle (after break-in) while the dash gauge showed 80 psi,,
Screw in a $20 mech gauge and see what the true pressure is,, and if the problem is the engine or the factory gauge.
I’m planning on doing a T and putting in a mech gauge, so that will help for sure. I haven’t yet tested it, but I’ll update here once I get a reading. I’m really new to this, so I’m not sure what you mean by “lifters.” There isn’t very much noise outside regular engine noise, but the pressure has been like this since I got it, so I’m not sure if I would even notice it. If you have any pointers/photos on how you installed your T for the mech gauge, that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help.
I posted the Weatherhead numbers for you cause this is what we sell at my Napa.
Unfortunately for me we did not have them in stock at the time which is why I went to O'Reily's.
And while I am pretty sure I am not 100% sure about the Weatherhead part numbers.
And pretty sure this is the thread sealant I used.
EDIT:
This set up works with my OTC oil pressure tester.
Should work with any oil pressure tester.
But what I don't know is if it would work if you wanted to run a permanent mechanical oil pressure gauge in your Jeep.
So please keep that in mind.
Oh and there is one more thing that all of us should have mentioned first.
We mentioned the possibility of the sensor being bad or the wiring being bad.
But that port that the sensor screws into sometimes gets a little clogged.
If so a a quick cleaning, thinking with a pipe cleaner, could solve the whole problem.
05-10-2021, 10:55 AM
2000 XJ sport constant 10 psi oil pressure
