jebmccall

alright yawl ive been out of the jeep game for a few months, never got rid of the xj just havent messed with it for a few months.... anyways a couple of months ago it developed a ticking sound when it gets up to temp and runs for a few minutes can be anywhere between 5 minutes to half an hour of hitting temp. it seems the noise is coming from up front so i changed the alternator since i felt a couple of bad spots in the bearings, changed the water pump pulley, fan hub pulley, fan hub mount since that bearing had some play in it. it also has a fairly new waterpump one of those high volume pumps from flow kooler, has a fairly new power steering pump also and a new belt. i put a new header on it maybe a year ago from seriousoffroad and i bought the felpro gasket. i dont believe the sound is in the valve train or inside of the engine because it occured after roughly sitting for a months and i parked it a week after i installed my hyline hoodvents although i dont believe that is relevant. also the noise seems to go away as engine rpms go up, a friend of mine mentioned it could be an exhuast leak.

thanks for the help and i am sorry for the long post, just trying to get as much info out as possible.

salad

Have you replaced the oil filter? Paper media doesn't do well after sitting for so long.

I take it there's still ticking when you start the engine without the belt.

jebmccall

havent changed the filter, but the oil pressure is the same as always. its been ran every few weeks just not driven. the problem with the noise is you cant let it run too long without the belt and no it is not present without the belt but like i said sometimes the noise will occur with in 5 minutes of hitting 210 sometimes 30 minutes after. and it is not a ticking sound it is more of a chirp or exhuast leak kind of sound.

salad

Okay. Make sure you change the filter SOON, cellulose media degrades after several months sitting in oil. Leaving a filter on for a year or so and firing it back up is a good way to start off an engine rebuild.

At this point you're going to need a small piece of hose to use as a stethescope to really narrow down where the noise is coming from.

jebmccall

ok salad i will keep that filter in mind, its getting close to needing an oil change anyways... tommorow i am going to reinstall the fan but leave the shroud off. get it to start making the noise again and squirt the bearings in the pulleys 1 by 1 and see which one makesa the noise go away if it does go away. ive tried the using a metal pipe trick to find the noise to no avail.. i honeatly think it is that overpriced water pump i put on their though.

KingsColor

If the tick increases in frequency when you rev the engine I'd say it's just the tension in your belt. I had a really annoying tick after replacing the power steering pump and idler pulley that was resolved by just turning over the engine and tightening the belt with the tensioner until it went away.

jebmccall

so i ran it until the noise started today, squirted some oil behind the water pump pulley but got a little on the belt, ran it until the belt squeal went away and then ran it for an additional half hour and then drove it for half an hour and no noise, so it probably is the water pump.... guess ill find out next week when i get the tag renewed and drive it for a while.