Whats a good oil pressure sending unit?

'96 XJ 4.0 here and i replaced my oil press sending unit couple years ago and it seems like it's going bad again. I probably got this one at an O'reilly's and I'm not sure who made it.

Where would you find a decent oil pres sending unit that's not too pricey?

My last one was a Standard brand from Advance; seems to work OK for
several years now.

My problem has been they start to leak, probably because they are near
the oil filter and get disturbed during a filter change.

If yours is reading erratically, try squeezing the connector to get a firmer
connection to the sender.

Ive tried several tryin to save a few bucks. All either went wonky wihin a year, read higher than actual or broke.
Get one from the factory n dont look back. I have to remember my stock one lasted 16 yrs before it went.

Runnin'OnEmpty said:

My problem has been they start to leak, probably because they are near
the oil filter and get disturbed during a filter change.

Click to expand...

PTFE (A.K.A. Teflon) thread tape on the the oil pressure sensor and the adapter for it. Turns out the stuff has a temperature range from -212 degrees to 500 degrees F.

OP, what is 'wrong' with your sensor? Have you confirmed pressure with a mechanical gauge? One way to test sensor is to disco it and needle should drop to zero. Ground the connection and should peg it.

I'll ask here too, since this thread is active. Does anyone know where the wire routes after it disappears in the loom? I've been having trouble tracing it so I can fix a short in it or if someone knows where it terminates, I'll just run a whole new wire there.

looks like its running directly to the instrument cluster.

Buy Bosch or MOPAR.
Everything else Fails w/ a Lil' Bump from the Oil Change Guy.
Or, Eventually starts to Leak & Fails.
Last one I bought was a Bosch, from O'Reilley's & It has Lasted for the last 4-5 Oil Changes, Without a Hiccup.
Next one I Buy Will be a Genuine MOPAR, Now that I have a Dealership Close by.

Been Daily Driving my '96 2 Door for the last 10 yrs & I've Found that Nothing Lasts Longer than Genuine MOPAR Parts.
Especially Sensors, at least for a '96, Which IS VERY Year Specific (For A LOT of Parts)

MOPAR IS All that I Buy , Now that I'm Making a Serious Effort to Restore/Improve My Jeep.
Promised Mr Willus (My Jeep / He's a grouchy Old BSTD!) & Myself that I'd Restore Him Before I Turned 60.
Well, That's 2yrs away & I'm Finally Getting a Good Start.
MOPAR Parts OR Improved & Proven Aftermarket Parts, Only, From Now On!

UncleSarge58

After getting a lot of feedback it looks like it could easily be the wiring I'm having a problem with. Anyone know where the ground connection for the sending unit is?

A lot of times the sensor itself is crap, I went through two NAPA units before buying a Mopar which fixed the problem. I was able to use a NAPA on my 01 but not on my 97. 97 is a crossover year which still had a bunch of 96 stuff on it. I take the extra step of removing the oil pressure sending unit when changing the oil on my 97 since its tight between the long sensor and charcoal canister. In my 01 the sensor is shorter and the charcoal canister is out the engine bay, near the fuel tank.

Played with the wiring at the sensor connector and the gauge seems to be behaving better. But since I've always had this problem I'm not entirely sure what it should look like.

What's the normal behavior of an oil pressure gauge? Mine seems to be sitting generally straight up at idle and goes up slightly when I hit the gas. I would assume oil pressure increases the more strain is put on an engine.

Oil pressure should rise with rpm, roughly 10psi per 1000 rpm. At idle oil pressure should be higher when the engine is cold than when warm. My 94 idles at 35 cold and 20 hot

bradleyheathhays said:

Played with the wiring at the sensor connector and the gauge seems to be behaving better. But since I've always had this problem I'm not entirely sure what it should look like.

What's the normal behavior of an oil pressure gauge? Mine seems to be sitting generally straight up at idle and goes up slightly when I hit the gas. I would assume oil pressure increases the more strain is put on an engine.

Click to expand...

I just got back from finding that myself. The wire broke where it goes into the connector but the sleeve remained in tact. That allows erratic behavior on the gauge. Heading to junk yard to cut one off so I can solder the connector to my wire. I'd suggest you do the same