Howdy folks,
I drove the Jeep about an hour yesterday, and it was running fine. I parked it, and hopped in it a couple hours later, and upon turning it on it immediately began to roar quite loudly. I thought at first my foot was somehow on the gas, it sounded like it was revving really high, but it is just doing it idly. I think that the culprit is the turbine/fan that spins in the front left of the hood (I don't know what it is called, I think it is part of the fan belt, but not the blower?), though I'm not sure. The car is shifting and drives, I took it up and down the driveway to investigate, but the sound gets louder and more awful when I accelerate. Any ideas? I'm befuddled since it was totally normal when I parked it, maybe a critter crawled inside somewhere? I did hit a decent bump on the drive home, but afterwards the car was behaving normally.

Thanks.

 

The fan clutch is what ur talking about.. To rule out other parts is to remove the drive belts start it and check for the noise... If the noise is gone start spinning all the pulleys one at a time and you should prolly find the culprit..water pump or another pulley is prolly noisy that be where to start....

 

if the sound is a "roaring" sound i would bet it is your fan clutch. if it is a screeching or grinding sound you"ll have to check the other accessories as well.

fan clutches are temp sensitive. it will engage when the clutch warms up. it will engage more often and for longer periods of time when it is hot outside. in my experience, fan clutches will engage more often when they get old and eventually stay engaged all of the time. if this is the problem it is a cheap and easy fix.

 

Agreed, fan clutch.

 

i'm having the same problem, and suspected the fan clutch because my sister had the same issue with her '01 WJ. Is this something I can do myself curbside?

Thanks!
Scotty

 

Usually just the opposite, with age the fan clutch free wheels more, causing overheating.

 

I'm pretty sure that's what my issue it, though. It's loud when i first start the engine, and the sound is exactly like the sound of a fan (with air wooshing through it). When I speed up it eventually goes away (or I just can't hear it anymore). I just had my radiator service, and fluid swapped, and the levels are fine.

Interesting, I feel like it takes a while for her to heat up. Also, my heat (that is, climate control) isn't as hot as it should be... related you think?

 

T-stat could be missing or sticking open not allowing motor to warm up fully.

 

You are correct! it does spin more freely when they are getting older or going out. Just give the fan a spin it should have some resistance and not spin freely.