Ive put around 500 miles on my cherokee since ive purchased it and it runs and drives great despite a few bugs ive fixed. It has run at 210 since i got it no problems never had oil in the coolant or vise versa. However the other day i was doing routine maitenance backflushed the cooling system but forgot to turn on heat while doing so. Afterwards i powerwashed the bay and was paranoid that since i didnt turn on the heat something bad might have happened. I immediately checked the oil to find water in it. I quickly drained it changed filter with napa gold and added some lucas oil mixed with fresh penzoil. Since i blew my last cherokee due to overheating im kinda concerned about water in my oil. Since changing the oil ive let it run for 20 minutes at idle drove it around my neighborhood and then checked the oil to find no water. I compression checked it and all cylinders are within a couple psi of each other. Im just trying to figure out how the water got there and why it didnt before/ why it isnt now. Any advice/ help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Maybe this?



I think water could have made it in the engine around the oil cap, breather, etc.

 

Don't need to turn on the heater on a '97 up XJ. Coolant flows thru the heater core the moment the motor is started regardless of where the HVAC controls are set. Power washers are for driveways, not motors.

 

Normally I wouldn't power wash but the degreaser alone wasn't enough. From what I could tell there was a fair amount f water which leads me to believe it was coming from somewhere else.

 

This is true.


And this is why!

It's not difficult to get a lot of water in an engine with power-washing.



Changing the oil immediately was a good move. You might want to do it again after a couple of days, just for safety. Water and bearings don't get along well together.

Other than that, I'd say just keep a close eye on it for a couple of weeks. Check the oil daily.