97 wrangler's oil pressure gauge goes down

[tnohe1]

I just bought a 97 wrangler, and when I was driving on the highway I noticed the oil pressure gauge go down when I came to a stop. It didn't go all the way down, but close to it. Is this an oil pump problem, or the oil gauge itself? What can I do?

[gtmud]

First and IMMEDIATLY! Put an oil pressure guage on it to see what your actual pressure is. If this checks out, look into replacing your sending unit. I wouldn't drive it till you know for certian that your oil pressure is good.

[TJ-Dave]

I have recently purchased a 97 4cyl and had the same thing happen to me. Change the oil/filter with 10w30, no change. I replaced the oil sensor and it read better but still fluctuated quite a bit. Drained oil/filter and used 20w50 which seems to have solved the problem. I live in FL and do not have to contend with the cold so I am not concerned with the heavy oil during start up. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[goinbig]

It's a Jeep Wrangler. This is a very common problem, and probably 99.99% of the time you just have to live with it.

If the oil pressure drops to Zero, then you've got problems.

My '88 and '89 YJ's would both drop down and run a 5-10 psi quite often!!