I have a 95 Cherokee won't win any contests but runs great. In the past 2 days though it has sounded like a diesel when running. It seems to be running fine no check engine light. I plan to record the sound and post it up when I get home from work.

 

Mine did that like a week before my water pump went bad, the bearing was making all that noise.

So, check your pulleys and see if any of them wobble

 

use a stethoscope, or a long screw driver to poke around the engine and see what doesnt sound normal.

 

Lifters clanking?

 

It was the idler pulley. But I can't get the belt to loosen. Been trying to loosen the power steering pump but no luck.

 

You have to loosen the bottom and top bold on the back of the PS pump, then loosen the one on the top on the front, then at the bottom on the front there is a bolt in a pivot bracket, it's a cross bolt to the adjustment bolt. Loosen that one. Then on the drivers side (on the right if you are facing the front of the jeep) on the very bottom there is a long bolt, the adjusting bolt, crank that counter clockwise for an eternity and eventually it will loosen enough to get the belt off. While turning counter clockwise the head of the adjusting bolt should stay flush with the bracket it is in, if not then either one of the other bolts isn't loosened, or it needs a little love. Push down on the power steering and see if it moves a little and makes the head of the bolt flush again.

 

Thanks for all the help! But now I have another issue and this could be related to me having messed with the serpentine belt. When going from stopped and accelerating it is making a grrr sound for a few seconds then stops.

 

How tight did you tighten the belt. You want it tight, but too tight can cause too much bearing pressure and belt wear. If you have and old bearing the newly applied pressure might can make it grind...Other than that I am unsure...Mine recently starting making a grinding/grrr noise on take off here is my post about it and the suggestions I got. Sometimes it's loud, sometimes it's barely noticeable...

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/gri...ke-off-119992/

 

Check the engine mounts. Look real close. They get hard and break.

 

Coud this sound be an alternator issue? I notice today that my battery voltage indicator was nearing red.

 

It's definitely a suspect if it's getting low voltage you will need a new one. You can get both tested for free at places like Autozone. Your spark plugs run off the electricity provided and if you are low enough on voltage your spark won't be hot enough and will start misfiring. I know because I was driving mine 2 hours home when mine went out -.-

You will probably have to replace it anyway, but I would first check cables and grounds. Provided your battery is good you can leave it on a charger overnight and put it in at full charge and see if it runs better. Trace your cables and check for bad grounds or corrosion anywhere, clean all terminals and metal ends. If you can't find anything pull your battery and alternator off and have them tested.