hey guys, need some help.

94 xj 4.0 with the aw4

Over the last months my jeep has started making a new noise that sounds like a bad blower motor (I know because mine is bad). I know it's not my blower motor because it does it regardless of using the blower. The noise happens at idle in park so I don't think it has anything to do with the drivetrain. It's definitely coming from the engine bay. The sound is worse when the motor is cold and goes away as everything warms up. The noise isn't constant, it will howl for a few moments then go away for a few. I've replaced my ac compressor with an idler and that didn't help. Also, fan clutch, water pump, and power steering pump are all under 2 years old, some are newer than that. What could it be? It's driving me crazy!

Side note: voltage gauge is reading a tad lower than it used to. I know my alternator is at least 9 years old! Could it be the bearings in the alt? Thanks in advance!

 

Bump

 

Could be the aux electric fan. Try unplugging it there by the air filter box. See if that stops the sound. It may be cycling on with temp or A/C actuation, even the defrost mode, which invokes A/C, may be turning that fan on even though you removed the A/C compressor.

Simple test

 

Check the water pump.