TnSun

Getting ready to sell my XJ. For the price I'm going to get, trying to save a bit & see if someone here can tell me what's going on.

Belt looks fine, no cracking & I don't see any slipping. No change in squeal after spraying with water. It's constant, whether ac is on/off & both in idle & while driving. There's a hesitation, it will quiet & then starts back up again. There is some rust on both the Water pump pulley & crackshaft pulley. It's been 10yrs since I had the idle pulley & water pump replaced..... Help? & THANK YOU

Savage71

Couple things you can try - spray behind the pulley on the water pump, idlers etc and see if there is a change in sound, you're trying to reach the bearings as best you can (I use brake parts cleaner, cuz it'll also remove any grease on the pulley surface or belt that could be causing noise... watch your eyes). You can also put a long screwdriver on the non-moving part of the water pump, A/C, alternator, etc while the engine is running, then put your ear on the handle of the screwdriver while it is touching the component. it'll act as a stethoscope and make the cuprit very obvious... be careful tho, remove dangly clothes, dont wanna get your tie caught in there! You can also remove the belt so you can spin all the pulleys and feel for gravelly, dry sounding bearings.