I'd say the problem you had with the 80lb spike was a sending unit glitch. Our '96 Blazer did it this past weekend again but is now back to where it usually runs (D*** electronics anyways). My Cherokee's is fine.

Using same oil brand as usual?

 

Yeah. Nothing has changed. It kept spiking for a couple days in a row which had me concerned some.

 

Maybe your oil pressure is what it's going to be without engine work and I wouldn't even go there.

When I went from conventional 10W30 and Fram filters to T6 and NAPA Gold on 3 diff kinds of vehicles recently they all picked a few psi's of oil pressure (none using mechanical gauges). Most noticeably at highway speeds. My point being maybe a diff oil (your filters are GOOD) will work although I'm not even suggesting you change oil every week til you find one. Chances are all along you were getting the same pressures your mechanical gauge is showing with the electrical one and it's still running fine.

 

When I changed the oil Saturday I only used 5w-30. Maybe next time I'll try something thicker and see what happens?

 

Personally I wouldn't be too keen on Mopar filters. While they have historically (at least recently) been decent (but nothing special) Fiat could change the supplier at any time (they have been doing a lot of this lately, I believe they have been made by Purolator or Champ Labs but again this could change at any time) so who knows if they are still any good. Even if they are still decent, they are still nothing special, you're basically paying $5+ for a Purolator Classic or entry level Champ Labs filter (both sell for $3-4) with a different coat of paint.


I personally like running the "oversized" Ford 302/351 filter (Motorcraft FL-1A, Purolator L30001/PL30001, Wix 51515/Napa 1515, etc.) aside from the additional filtering capacity, these are ridiculously common (and the FL-1A is a great filter for the money), and I've found that if you use an end-cap filter wrench you are much less likely to break the sender (since the wrench will be several inches back from the sender versus almost right next to it with the stock filter).