Evanfordsp1

Yep, I've spent around 8 hours underneath it grinding dirt and rust spots and painting it with undercoat. But the engine is my biggest priority right now.

jeepin4jesus

My 99 also started making this noise after i changed oil and stuff. But performance and the way she runs hasnt changed any.

Evanfordsp1

See, mine did the same thing! It almost makes me think that the tapping is normal and if it doesn't tap- that means there is a problem and the oil needs to be changed...haha

But, all in all, I just want to know where its coming from, but its so hard to tell where it comes from until I start tearing the valve cover off and drop the oil pan of and check there. But that seems to be a bit harsh for such a minor tapping noise, that's why id like to find the source. Sorry for the rant.. haha

99FreshenedCherokee

well look here's my story..dont mean to hijack this thread...
I change my oil every 3000 miles and never had my jeep had any sort of ticking(well engine wise anyway) and what happened is that i had to wait an extra week or after the 300 miles to change the oil due to low funds, and when i changed the oil there was supposed to be roughly six quarts coming out, but insted only 4 came out!!! so when i changed the oil the oil came out extremely black and smelled burned! so i changed the oil and refilled it to 6 quarts(how its supposed to be)and then..i heard tappin..not so loud but it starded tapping... was thinking since i never checked the oil level it dropped dangerously low(due to the famous xj leak) and almost blew my motor!...now i check the oil everyday and what i was noticing yesterday was that when i rev up the engine really fast like four or five times less than a second apart i hear a very hard and loud knocking sound but if it is just idling it sounds very mild.... sorry bout the longass post but i need help! i need to know what that is....is my motor F'd up already?.. and also i use 10-w40 due to the high heat down here..

Evanfordsp1

Well my story is similar to yours I just bought my Cherokee around a 2 weeks ago from a guy who had not run the thing for a prolonged time. It set for over a year i can guess, and when I asked him when the last oil change was. He was unable to tell me- stupid right? Well then I drove it for a week before last weekend when I finally changed the oil and a day later after the oil change it started tapping. So I have no idea what that means, because I would think new oil wouldn't cause it to knock.

jeepin4jesus

Seems we all have the same problem so it seemd to me it is probably normal.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Cherokee Forum

xjbradda

try taking it to checker and get it scanned for free. that will get any sensor/electrical issue out of the way. Also Wildspear had good advice with taking a 3ft hose attach it to your ear and pinpoint that noise. Good LuCK!

kingkamodo

Check your crank position sensor, mine ticks like crazy. It is where the distributor would be if this engine had one. These are known to make a "ticking" sound on this engine. I don't know if it bothers anything, mine has been doing it a while. I think the year 2000 and 2001 XJs have this distributor-less ignition, maybe others too.

grantman18

I'm pretty sure that my knocking/clicking is coming from the water pump pulley. I have also noticed that when it's wet out, it's more of a squeak than a knocking sound.

What's the next course of action for something like this? Can you overhaul the bearings, or just replace it totally?

99FreshenedCherokee

im hearing an ls1 swap?..

TheKirbyMan

The pulley itself bolts to the water pump. Any bearings would be in the pump itself.

I don't think the bearings are serviceable, so you'd probably need to replace it. They're not that expensive and the job isn't very difficult.

Firestorm500

Could be the belt idler pulley bearings.

I've had to replace one each in both of my Jeeps within the last year.

xjbradda

just replace it. 40 bucks tops from checker out the door.

GATORNATION

So I have read post after post of the mysterious "ticking \ tapping" noise. I have a 2003 GC and the tap monster is alive in my jeep too. I have read may posts regarding the exhaust manafold. Sounds strange but I started it up and got under the jeep. Pretty sure thats where its coming from. Yet with the hood up you would swear it was coming from the top of the motor. Now, my question is...anything I can use to verify this? I have the same symtoms as everyone else. Starts, stops, gets quiet then start up again. Seems to stop at around 15mph. Little help...

grantman18

I used the "mechanic's stethoscope" technique (just a piece of plastic tubing) to pinpoint the noise to the water pump pulley area. I was hoping it was nothing towards the underside of the block. When I removed the old water pump I was barely able to turn the blades because they were almost siezed. New water pump and it sounds like new.