Oil pressure.......

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02silverKJ

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hi everyone, im the new guy. i just bought an 02 kj. the oil pressure light comes on every now and then but only when the engine is at idle. never above 700 rpms. some days it does it, some days it doesnt. any ideas? i just bought it so i am gonna change the oil this week. also any reccomendations for what kind of oil these beasts like best???? i have the 3.7 thanks

nate
 

dnm45227

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man that would worry me. does it do it below 700, step on the gas go off, then idle back down and come back on? if so the cheapest thing to try would be an oil change, then the sending unit/sensor, but most likely the oil pump.
 

02silverKJ

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sweet, ill look up the sensor and see what it costs, i do all my own maintenance so i guess this is number 1.
 

02silverKJ

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it only does it below 700, if you rev it the light goes out, then when it idles again it comes back on.

but it doesnt do it every day, just every now and then.
 

02silverKJ

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well i am at 88k. would it be ok to switch to synthetic now....

all i put in my redline is mobil 1 full synthetic, thats what she came with though.

i have heard different stories about switching oils on higher mileage vehicles
 

2003KJ

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Ok, so it's coming on because the pressure is too low....another reason I hate dummy lights....and much prefer to have as many gauges as possible....but thats another topic.

My suggestion to you, change the oil and filter. What brand filter is on there now? If it's a Fram, that more than likely is your problem, as they've been known for being cheap and not filtering properly. I believe the internals break apart in the Frams, and therefore blocks everything up, causing low pressure.

Do you notice any unusual noises, such as knocking or tapping when you're sitting idle and the light comes on? If it's low enough to trip the light, you would think it would be making some sort of knocking or tapping noise.

As far as oil goes, i'd actually run 10W30 and see what happens. I run 10W30 Mobil 1 Synthetic with a Napa Gold filter (which is a Wix brand, one of the best out there and the Napa Gold only costs about $6 and some change in my area) and have zero issues. However, until you can narrow down your problem to either bad oil, a faulty sensor, or worse a bad oil pump, I wouldn't spend the $$$ on the expensive oil. I would get some regular house brand (such as Napa) 10W30 regular oil. I know the books, and most manufacturer's recommend 5W30, and IMO that's fine in the winter when the temps are colder. But now that it's getting warmer out, I think 5W30 might be just a bit too thin for the heat, especially once the engine gets warmed up. With that said however, I run 10W30 year round, and mine is usually garage kept, but has spent quite a few nights this past winter outside in single digits and teen's with no problems.

Where are you from, and how many miles do you have on your KJ?

I'd have to look up the oil pressure specs in the factory service manual, but I believe that they are pretty low for the 3.7, so if you're light is coming on like it is, you've got to have some seriously low pressure.
 

Dave

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If the light only goes on at low idle and when you give it a "little" gas it goes out and never comes on while driving, maby the idle needs to be turned up just a "little bit". Then see what it does. Then change the oil/filter etc.

Dave
 

the_titan

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Jeep now recommends 5w-20, which I was using already because of the size of the openings...and I have a couple drums worth since the HEMI uses it.
 

JeepJeepster

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the_titan said:
Jeep now recommends 5w-20, which I was using already because of the size of the openings...and I have a couple drums worth since the HEMI uses it.

Do you really use 5w-20 in your Liberty? That would be awesome b/c we were thinking about buying a drum of the stuff for our HEMI since we can get it cheap. O:)
 

02silverKJ

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well i have 88k on the engine. it sounds great and runs great, no unusual noises or behavior yet.

it is a cheap filter on there right now. just came from the dealer so i dont even know what kind it is......

i will do an oil change asap. and see if it helps out

could you guys look and see what the psi is when the light comes on??? that would be extremely helpful.....

3 psi is dangerously low........ i hope its not the pump, also, where is the oil pressure sensor located on the 3.7??? i will take a look at the connector and see if something may be up there...
 

the_titan

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jeepjeepster said:
Do you really use 5w-20 in your Liberty? That would be awesome b/c we were thinking about buying a drum of the stuff for our HEMI since we can get it cheap. O:)

YES, I REALLY use 5W-20 in it. It is better for the 3.7L than 5W-30 it turns out because it flows better through that...unusual...engine. It was only reinforced by the fact that I have so much of it since the HEMIs MUST use 5W-20 to operate properly. If you check a 2007 KJ, I guarantee they now say to use 5W-20. And they did not change that engine one bit for 2007 which would suddenly give them reason to recommend 5W-20. This was something I was doing long before that, though.

edit: I stole maddawg's picture from his post in this same section. Luckily it happened to be the right angle to read his oil fill cap.

Thanks maddawg, hehe
You must be registered for see images
 

Cableguy

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FYI:

According to the 2002 FSM, the curb idle pressure is 4psi minimum.
At 3000 RPM, it's supposed to be 25-80psi.
 

2003KJ

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I never could understand why the oil pressure was so.....low on the 3.7. Curb idle pressure of 4psi is almost nothing...
 

02silverKJ

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so are you guys saying that at idle its only 4 psi....... thats really low.
 

tjkj2002

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02silverKJ said:
so are you guys saying that at idle its only 4 psi....... thats really low.
It should be no less than 4 psi,that's with the engine hot like just got off the highway(been driving at 65mph for 5 hours straight) and let idle while in gear it should not drop below 4 psi.So no it doesn't "always" have only 4 psi at idle,that's at the worst side of the safe psi range for the 3.7.
 

2003KJ

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tjkj2002 said:
02silverKJ said:
so are you guys saying that at idle its only 4 psi....... thats really low.
It should be no less than 4 psi,that's with the engine hot like just got off the highway(been driving at 65mph for 5 hours straight) and let idle while in gear it should not drop below 4 psi.So no it doesn't "always" have only 4 psi at idle,that's at the worst side of the safe psi range for the 3.7.

Still though, that doesn't leave you much room to play at all....say in case something were to fail.
 

JJsKJ

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FWIW, many manufacturers are switiching to 5W-20 for only one real reason. Fuel mileage. Lighter oils produce less drag on the internal moving parts of the engine and that allows the engine to work more efficiently which = slightly better fuel mileage. What the MFG's are trying to do is get a better overall average mileage across all their vehicles and this is one way of accomplishing this.
 

02silverKJ

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so the 5w20 is ok? thats the general consensus....... im gonna do an oil change tomorrow..... so what should i buy?
 

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