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Oil pressure issue on 2000 XJ
Seasoned Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 386
Likes: 0
From: in a small town named ...
Year: 1997
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L
Originally Posted by cruiser54
I agree with wnjfirearms. This is simple and interesting:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f19/4...fixed-1304679/
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f19/4...fixed-1304679/
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 46
Likes: 1
From: Modesto CA
Year: 2000
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
CF Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,031
Likes: 4
From: Blue Springs, MO
Year: 1993
Model: Grand Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L Laredo
My esteemed bros....let's not put the fear of God into this guy. Just not yet.
This is a common complaint we have with these vehicles. My '98 did exactly this recently. Ended up being the sending unit and nothing more.
The "CHECK GAUGES" light relates to the dash gauges and what they show, nothing more. It is responding to the "0" reading of the oil gauge, not what the pressure may really be.
You don't relate any other symptoms like the valves getting noisy at idle or performance issues which make me suspect the sender. The best way to know for sure is to get your hands on an oil pressure gauge for diagnostics. They aren't expensive, unless you go for Snap On or one of the other professional brands. You remove the sender and attach the external gauge where the sender is screwed in just below the distributor. The reading will tell the tale for sure. If you just want to replace it for general principles, all parts stores carry them and they aren't the most expensive sensor these engines have.
I always believe in exploring the simplest solution first. It often is the least expensive and most common fix.
This is a common complaint we have with these vehicles. My '98 did exactly this recently. Ended up being the sending unit and nothing more.
The "CHECK GAUGES" light relates to the dash gauges and what they show, nothing more. It is responding to the "0" reading of the oil gauge, not what the pressure may really be.
You don't relate any other symptoms like the valves getting noisy at idle or performance issues which make me suspect the sender. The best way to know for sure is to get your hands on an oil pressure gauge for diagnostics. They aren't expensive, unless you go for Snap On or one of the other professional brands. You remove the sender and attach the external gauge where the sender is screwed in just below the distributor. The reading will tell the tale for sure. If you just want to replace it for general principles, all parts stores carry them and they aren't the most expensive sensor these engines have.
I always believe in exploring the simplest solution first. It often is the least expensive and most common fix.
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 47
Likes: 1
Model: Cherokee
I had to replace the oil sending unit on my 98 XJ twice. Maybe there are some poor quality units out there.
Engine manufacturers design oil pumps to move enough oil to maintain pressure in an engine that's in good condition plus some more. The extra oil is dumped back in the pan via the oil pressure relief valve.
When an engine ages and oil pressure drops, the relief valve remains closed because oil never reaches relief pressure.
When faced with low oil pressure, there is no way of knowing if the cause is wear in the pump or loose clearances in rod and main bearings, cam bearings, etc. Usually it's not caused by the pump.
Engine manufacturers design oil pumps to move enough oil to maintain pressure in an engine that's in good condition plus some more. The extra oil is dumped back in the pan via the oil pressure relief valve.
When an engine ages and oil pressure drops, the relief valve remains closed because oil never reaches relief pressure.
When faced with low oil pressure, there is no way of knowing if the cause is wear in the pump or loose clearances in rod and main bearings, cam bearings, etc. Usually it's not caused by the pump.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: North Dallas TX
Year: 2000
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L V6
UPDATE: It was the sending unit/switch.
I didn't have access to a oil pressure testing gauge, so I decided to swap the sending unit first and hope that was it.
Getting the old one out took much longer than planned. I couldn't get the damn wiring harness to come apart after I removed that stupid red tab, so I had to use channel locks to twist the old one out. Because of all the crap that's in the way around there, this took forever. When I got it out of the engine block the harness decided to slip right off.
There was a lot of caking south of where it plugs in, I probably had a slow leak for a long time. The wiring connector was full of oil and grime so I put some wd40 in there then blasted it out with a compressed air can, it was clean enough after that. I threaded the new unit in to the engine block (this time with a deep socket wrench - much easier) then connected the wiring harness. Started right up and returned to normal oil pressure (about 50 pounds in my motor).
Thanks for your help!
I didn't have access to a oil pressure testing gauge, so I decided to swap the sending unit first and hope that was it.
Getting the old one out took much longer than planned. I couldn't get the damn wiring harness to come apart after I removed that stupid red tab, so I had to use channel locks to twist the old one out. Because of all the crap that's in the way around there, this took forever. When I got it out of the engine block the harness decided to slip right off.
There was a lot of caking south of where it plugs in, I probably had a slow leak for a long time. The wiring connector was full of oil and grime so I put some wd40 in there then blasted it out with a compressed air can, it was clean enough after that. I threaded the new unit in to the engine block (this time with a deep socket wrench - much easier) then connected the wiring harness. Started right up and returned to normal oil pressure (about 50 pounds in my motor).
Thanks for your help!
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 47
Likes: 1
Model: Cherokee
Update on an old thread. The problem with my oil pressure guage on my 1998 XJ was the instrument cluster wire connector, which I replaced with the new revised cluster connector. This is a common problem on later XJ's.
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Oil Light comes on at idle hot, using coolant
I’m using coolant. Oil level not rising. Does not look milky. Shouldn’t the oil level rise?
I am for sure using about a gallon of coolant every 1000 miles and oil light on hot at idle. Pressure with a gauge is below 10 psi at idle.
I do not see the crack in the head thru the filler cap. Could it just be the gasket? I hear rattling in bottom end on initial start up cold.
2001 4.0l Cherokee 105,000 miles
any advise would be appreciated.
I am for sure using about a gallon of coolant every 1000 miles and oil light on hot at idle. Pressure with a gauge is below 10 psi at idle.
I do not see the crack in the head thru the filler cap. Could it just be the gasket? I hear rattling in bottom end on initial start up cold.
2001 4.0l Cherokee 105,000 miles
any advise would be appreciated.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 523
Likes: 99
From: PA
Year: 2000
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
I would advise starting a new thread. You are jumping onto a thread that was started 10 years ago.
That being said, with all that you are saying it doesn't sound good. Low oil pressure, disappearing coolant, rattling in the bottom end. Any one of those is a bad sign, all of them together would have me pricing a new engine.
That being said, with all that you are saying it doesn't sound good. Low oil pressure, disappearing coolant, rattling in the bottom end. Any one of those is a bad sign, all of them together would have me pricing a new engine.
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