Hello everyone I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee with roughly 145k miles on it. Yesterday started her up and while idling the jeep was making a sound similar to that of when kids put cards in their bike spokes. When accelerating or revving the engine the sounds gets quite a bit worse. I had noticed a noise about two days prior to this, but it didn't sound anything like this and I didn't think much of it. The jeep is due for an oil change soon approx. 2900 miles on this oil and filter. (I do a lot of city driving for short distances)

My first thought was that it was a cracked head since I do have the notorious 0331 head. I inspected the oil level and checked to see if coolant was in it. Everything looked normal. After having a few friends look at it their first guesses were a lifter or maybe even a intake manifold leak.

I ended up bringing it to a shop they checked to make sure the torque converter bolts were tight which they were. I left the jeep with them and they are going to pull the filter off inspect that for flakes. If the filter checks out they are gonna drop the pan and check the rods and bearings.

Basically my questions are what does this sound like to you how much do you think a shop would charge me. (They are charging me for 3 hours of labor $88 to drop the pan and another $88 if I want it put back on) At this point I'm assuming its gonna be bad and best case scenario is to find a new engine and find someone to drop it in for me.

Thanks

 

serpentine belt split?

 

Probably not just replaced the power steering pump not that long ago and belt looked fine. Plus I wasn't having any power steering, charging or cooling issues while driving it to the shop.

 

Could be a collapsed/failed lifter, which will allow the valve to basically bottom out each time. Have you pulled the valve cover yet to look for anything weird with the valve train?

 

Look to see if the mechanical cooling fan is hitting the shroud.

 

Exhaust leak?

 

I would pull the oil drain plug and check it for shavings. $176.00 to pull and replace the pan is a deal here. If you don't find anything you will still need to buy oil, oil filter, oil pan gasket and rear main seal since you're in there. Therefore, see what the folks here can help diagnose or offer suggestions for first. That engine has plenty of life left unless it's trashed somehow but I don't think it would be since its running.

 

Might be a rod knock. Might be a thrashy valve train, but that usually develops over time with engines with more miles on them. Could be one or more collapsed lifters.

Take off the oil filler cap. Run the engine, and look in the valve cover area to make sure you have plenty of oil flow in there.

Do you ever have to add coolant, even a little?

 

yeah i'm thinking either a collapsed or stuck lifter or even bent push rod.

does that motor have a knock sensor?

 

Sounds valvey to me.

 

If there're bits and parts of dead critter in the fan enclosure then it could make sounds like a "card in the spokes" when the blades are spinning. It probably all started with a yelp or some oh-****! type of sound in critter-speak.

 

Only Renix has a knock sensor.

 

thought so

 

You ought to tell them, "Nah, that's okay. I'll just go with out it," and see what they do.

 

The one time my XJ made this kind of sound my right side motor mount had broken and the engine had dropped far enough that the mechanical fan blades were hitting the plastic fan shroud.