oil pressure problems please help

[00harpdawg]

I have a 95 wrangler with a 4.0 6cyl with only 111,000 miles on the motor and now it won't get oil pressure above 20psi. It will have normal pressure until the engine warms up then it drops down. at idle i only have 6 psi. I've done three oil changes with filters and hooked up a mechanical gauge and still the same reading. so i know it's not the gauge and not the oil or the filter i've tried thicker oil and an engine cleaner and nothing. could it be the oil pump or strainer? i've called around and everybody says no. it ran great until i went into a puddle and it looks like i got a little mud/water in a few cylinders but i cleaned them out as much as possible any info is apreciated thanks

 

[RockMonkey]

Ever run it low on oil?

 

[chadschoon]

my oil pressure sensor started to go on my 98 and did the same thing. I dont know if they are the same on the 95 but it takes 2 secounds to change.

 

[RockMonkey]

my oil pressure sensor started to go on my 98 and did the same thing. I dont know if they are the same on the 95 but it takes 2 secounds to change.

...hooked up a mechanical gauge and still the same reading....

The mechanical gauge would rule that out. Sounds like it's time for a rebuild, of at least the bottom end.

 

[chadschoon]

ya, mine didnt run high untell it gets warm. that sures doesnt sound good

 

[00harpdawg]

yeah like i said i hooked up the mechanical gauge and still read the same so i know it's not the sensor or gauge. i personally never ran It low on oil at all but i just bought the jeep like a week ago so i don't know it's past. the oil was pretty dirty when I bought it. I'm going to be doing a compression check on it tonight and see if that tells me anything. so if the bottom end is bad would i be able to tell if i drop the pan?

 

[BCGPER]

You didn't mention what you've tried for different weights on your oil. Low pressure usually means worn bearings. If you drop the pan, you won't be able to tell the condition of the bearings without acually pulling them, so it's a waste of time and money not to replace them at that time.

Also, you mention getting water into a few of the cylinders. How did you determine this? How did you remove the water? Did any get into the oil?

If I had to wager a guess, I'd say with 111K on the clock it's just normal wear on a Jeep that's had maybe marginal maintenance, and the correct oil should buy you many more miles.

 

[88 Runner SAS]

X2 on the bearings. Thats where your pressure builds. Seen a lot of people replace pumps with no results. Time to drop the pan, look & then dig in.