Hello! My husband and I are the proud new owners of a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport with about 117k on it. 4.0 Auto, with a rebuilt head (very recent). We drove the vehicle about 1.5 hours away from home, and the oil pressure on the drive home dropped from about 20-30 to around 10, and at idle to almost 0, then the "check gauges" light would come on. I noticed that it only dropped to 0 and the light only came on when I was a complete standstill, but as soon as I hit the gas, the pressure went back up to around 10 and the light went off.

Any ideas what it may be?

Also-the a/c doesn't work. Air blows fine, just nothing cold. Are they known for leaks or just bad a/c systems?

Thanks for helping a newbie!

 

The oil pressure could be caused by a pump thats failing, bad cam bearings, wrong oil (too thin), faulty oil pressure sending unit, etc. A mechanical oil pressure gauge will help determine if the pressure indicated on the dash is correct.

Is the A/C clutch engaging? Have you checked the refrigerant charge?

 

I am afraid I am not the most mechanically minded, so I can't answer either of those questions. Guess I'll just take it to our mechanic until hubby and I get acquainted with the Jeep ways and learn how to work on it ourselves.

Thanks for helping me know the right questions to ask!

 

Jessie they are both easy to do. One (A/C) is just an observation and the other involves unscrewing the sending unit and replacing it (temporary) with a gauge.

 

Ed Zachery!
You climb in start the heep, hubby watches the clutch on the front of the compressor. You turn on the A/C and if the clutch starts spinning, well then the clutch and associated controls are good.

Buy an A/C recharge kit and follow the instructions, really simple to do.

 

Thanks for the easy tip on the AC!

As for the oil pressure thing...it just has me pretty worried since we literally just purchased it privately this morning! Cost wise how bad would any of these options be?

Thanks...

PS-any good tips on the Cherokees for us newbie owners? We're planning on using it to take onto the beach to do surf fishing.