Howdy Folks -

I've got a '99 Limited with what might be a bad wheel bearing. It makes a chirp/squeak above 20 MPH. It does not make the sound at idle, so I don't think it's a belt (but maybe so?).

Sound is not affected by applying the breaks or putting the jeep in neutral while driving. It is high pitched and sounds like a bunch of friggin crickets! Pretty loud! At first I thought it was coming from the dash, but then I realized it was external.

Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions.

 

easiest way to check wheel barrins, jack the front end of your jeep up, just high enough to get front wheels off ground. and try to wobble the wheel. put your hands on the 12 and 6 position of the wheel. and pull the top and push the bottom.. if it wobble quite a bit. then you have a bad wheel barrin

 

Thanks! I'll do that this afternoon.

Is there any particular sound associated with a bad bearing though? I did my 'searching duties' before I posted and saw that it could be a bearing, U-Joint or perhaps a belt.

 

a bad wheel bearing doesn't always have movement. When they go bad they make a humming noise.

 

this sounds more like a bad u joint

 

It doesn't click though and it's not specific to turns.

It's really high pitch. Could be rubber on metal.

 

X2 on the CV/U-joint. A bad wheel bearing makes a howling noise more than a squeaky one...Tj

 

Any way of checking a CV/U joint to see if it's the culprit?

I also read somewhere that folks were having trouble with a chirping sound where the AC vents enter the cabin. Does anyone know about this noise?

Thanks for the help. As you can probably tell I'm a total Newbie.

 

I believe that i've got the same sort of noise going on. It only happens when the jeep is cold, (sub 40 degrees outside) and I am driving. When I first start moving it happens at any speed over about 10 mph, and increases in frequency as my speed (not RPMs) go up. As I drive the truck and it warms up, the squeaking slowly quiets down and after 5-10 minutes is totally gone.
I have varied the heater fan speeds and turned the heater off to no effect, held the clutch pedal in while coasting to no effect, and revved the engine while coasting to no effect. It seems directly related to vehicle speed, and sounds roughly like its coming from the passenger side of the truck in the area of the back of the engine/bellhousing.
Brakes, clutch and flywheel are all within 1 year old as well as throwout and pilot bearings, and this noise only started in the cold weather. Driveability seems unaffected, no more rattles/shakes/vibrations with the noise. Its kind of irking me but I haven't lifted the truck or taken anything apart at this time to track it down (might do that if it doesn't snow this weekend...)

 

Someone told me my bearings were going, but it doesn't chirp or humm... it's more like a loud groaning/grinding when I turn my wheels too far. Almost like when I turn in 4x4.

 

Mooooooo. No but seriously it's sounds like bearings...u joints kinda pop or grind and you can feel it when you have your tires at full lock. kind bumps or jerks a little and you said turning is not the issue, so I'm leaning towards bearings