01 XJ, 4.0 I6


it makes a squealing sound sometimes at a standstill, and 70-80% of the time when pulling away from a stop, and then the sound stops at around 15-20mph.


i just had the fan clutch and water pump replaced yesterday, and when i popped the hood and looked, it sounded like the sound was coming from the front of the engine, and maybe from a spot lower down on the serpentine belt.

I dont have much mech experience, so if you need any more info, just ask.


(btw....ive only had the jeep a week, so im not sure if this is one of the "it always makes that noise" or a "time to head to the parts store" sound)

 

alternator is going bad
its the lowest accesory on the front pass side of the motor

 

loose fan belt?
tighten the fan belt a bit and see if it stops or you might need a new one. theyre about 20 bucks

 

Because this noise started just after a water pump replacement, the odds are very high that this is a serpentine belt that isn't quite tight enough.

The belt on the 4.0 needs to be awfully darn tight to keep quiet. Tighter than any other vehicle that I've ever owned.

Take the vehicle back to where the work was performed. They can verify this. I would think that a simple tightening of the belt will take care of this.

Good luck!

 

well im hoping its not the alternator, but i will keep an eye on the battery level over the next few days....


cant really take it back to the shop since its 100 miles away.....but i will check the tension on it to see how much give it has.

 

x2 on the belt tension. Do you have your a/c compressor on? I have noticed with mine that if I have that on it will cause a squeal upon take off. Course when it's cold out and I start the jeep it will do it also when the compressor is off.

 

UPDATE:


drove the jeep to and from work today, bit of squealing but nothing crazy.

a few minutes ago, went out to get cigarettes, started the jeep and backed out but immediately noticed the lack of power steering (side note: 33s are really tough to turn manually) and a strong burning smell.

i immediately pulled back in and popped the hood and saw that the serpentine belt was loose. As in....it had been snapped. When i pulled it out, it was pretty easy to see the belt was essentially brand new and had snapped and there was a burn bubble right near the snap. When i pulled it out, the spot were it was snagged (and where i assume it was snapped) was near the bottom of the engine.

im guessing (and hoping) that this was a case of a belt that was either not seated correctly or too loose. If there are any other plausible/likely situations, please let me know.

im also hoping that a new serpentine belt is an easy fix.

 

Make sure none of the pulleys are seizing. See if any of them have resistance when you spin them.

 

should they all spin freely?

 

check the pulleys for deformities or burrs. Also like bill says make sure the pulleys spin freely.

 

They should spin without much aid from you.

 

UPDATE:

the ice here in ohio melted enough today for me to pop the hood and look.

the ac compressor, power steering pump, fan, and upper of 2 pulleys on the engine block (the smaller one) all spun freely.


the alternator would not budge, and neither would the larger pulley on the engine block (right above the oil pan).

i was talking to a buddy of mine who knows car stuff, and he said its not bad for the alternator to be tight, and that the big engine block pulley is fine not spinning freely as well. However, when i called up my dad, he said the alternator should have a bit of give to it and that its probably an alternator issue.

I would be stoked if it is an alternator that needs replaced, but i am curious if it would be safe to start the jeep for a few seconds without the belt, just to make sure the engine is good?

I did drive it back into the parking spot with no power steering when i found out about the belt though, so that may be proof enough that the engine isnt the issue.

added pics of the engine front (was gonna make arrows to the ones that dont work, but i dont have CS on this computer)


the last three pics are the chronicle of the near miss i experienced in the big storm the last day or two. the tree right in front of my apartment fell....barely missing my jeep. Unfortunately, the tree was resting on my pickup and my girlfriends beetle.....thank god i went out for a smoke when i did on tuesday night, and saw the tree resting on the cars and was able to move them before damage happened. the winch pictures are because i tried to move the jeep without turning it on over an iced over parking lot. I gave up with the jeep in the middle of the lane....and used the winch 2 weeks after buying the jeep....even though when i bought it i thought "itll be months before i get to use this thing"

 

Your alternator pulley should spin freely with a weighty feel to it but if it's tight or won't turn you need to get yourself a new alternator.

Yeah, the big crankshaft pulley above the oil pan will only spin when you start the engine.

 

ok, as a mechanically-inexperienced person....would it be simple enough to replace this with a buddy who has a bit more experience?


im assuming that its just a matter of unbolting the bad alternator, bolting on the new one, and connecting some cables and whatnot.


i found this: http://ezinearticles.com/?Jeep-Chero...ent&id=1335638

and it doesnt look too tough.

 

It's a piece of cake, take your time, disconnect the battery cables at the battery first and then the wires at the alternator, some times there a pain to get out between the frame and the engine but twist it around a little and it'll drop out! You definately need a new alternator and a belt!