Good afternoon.

I'll preface this by saying i dont know a whole lot about cars. I know enough to know when i'm out of my element.

So I have a 2001 Cherokee Sport with the classic in line 6. 4WD. 175,000 miles. Exhaust manifold has a crack that has been welded. Just recently replaced neutral safety switch to fix a starter issue. Have never had a major engine problem.

Last night, I made a 300 mile drive from Jersey City to Montpelier, VT. About 200 miles into the trip (it was bumpy; Jersey City to I-87 across the GW Bridge, onto 87 to Albany, then 787 into rural Vermont over to Montpelier) I started hearing what I thought was a clicking noise in the engine.

I had the music playing - No preaching about what I should have done please - and I thought the noise was coming from the front right axl, where i've occasionally had issues in the past.

Instead, when I finally got to Montpelier, I turned the radio off to call my GF and realized the noise was coming from the engine. Its a loud clicking noise. Seems to be coming from the driver's side. It doesnt sound like a knock - ie a "bang" of metal knocking hard against metal, more like a "whirring" clicking noise. It starts when the car starts, and then stops until I accelerate, when it picks up again. At idle, its pretty faint. The engine temperature has not changed at all. I added oil and coolant to the engine (not that I expected this to do anything) just in case.

If i were to compare it to a video, i'd say this is the closest, except mine seems to get faster when I press the gas:


So here's my questions. I already drove over 100 miles with it last night - again, not knowing what it really was, lesson learned - and had to drive around today to see if I could find a mechanic shop open - this area has very limited options and some of the places that advertised Saturday hours were actually closed.

I need to either drive this back to Jersey City (300 miles) where I have a very trusted mechanic who has kept this Jeep running the last year, or leave it here, take the train tomorrow to NYC, and have my girlfriend take it to a local shop. I'd prefer to drive it, but if its a high risk the car will die - i'd like input. Also, is there a chance this is a blown rod?

All help appreciated.

 

Like trying to perform surgery over the phone, this isn't going to work, you'll have to find someone to look at it in person.

 

Thanks Turbo.