I'm going to try to describe this without sounding like a complete noob...

I have a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0, automatic, stock everything.

The last few weeks, I notice a new noise coming from the Jeep. When I run at low speeds the engine sounds like it is experiencing some resistance, and the noise that comes from it sounds like you're trying to turn an electric motor that doesn't want to be turned. A quick glance under the hood doesn't show any mechanical interference (like feral cats or a misplaced belt).

I also feel like the engine is revving high. Doing highway speeds on the way home from work the other day, I glanced down at the gauges and saw I was running about 3,000 rpm at 80 mph... Usually it runs around 2,500. Am I imagining things? Are these even problems? Is my transmission about to do something stupid and expensive? I had the transmission rebuilt about five years and 150K miles ago...

Thanks, all.

 

maybe a pump or pulley is bad. if there was resistance there it would make the motor run harder and probably cause some noise... idk... pop the belt and give the pulleys a spin?

 

is the tranny shifting all the gears other words its getting into high gear or over drive mines stick dont now any body that has one so i dont now how many gears you got

 

not sure where your noise is coming from, but i had a sort of rumbling from the rear when deccelerating, come to find out at a tire rotation i had two stuck wheel bearings. Big-O replaced them for free which blew my mind.

 

Try shifting your gears manually. Put it in L or 1-2 (not sure which its called on your year), shift up to 3 at around 2000-2500rpm, it will go to 2nd, then to 3rd. in 3rd get up to 40mph or so and shift it into D. the RPM should drop (mine is 1500RPM at 45mph in 4th gear, about 2000 in 3rd.)

 

That's something I didn't look at, as it definitely sounds like the motor is trying to spin something that doesn't want to be spun.