99jeepgirl

howdy y'all, i'm new to the forum and have read through some of the other posts about fuel pumps (there are a lot!) some of them seem to be similar to my question, but i couldn't make sense of some of the responses (read: i am not a gearhead....)

i've owned my 2001 cherokee for less than a year and recently (w/in the last three months) i've noticed a sound coming from the front - it sounds like something is trying to suck (fuel? air? water?) into the engine. i dunno if it *is* the fuel pump, but that was my first guess. it started happening every 30 seconds or so, driving under 35 or at idle, now it's every 4 seconds and all the time (even after a big, long drive on the highway.) i'm also noticing that i haven't got as much power getting up steep hills as i did even a week ago. starts/runs fine otherwise. anybody got any ideas?

p.s. - can anybody recommend a good jeep mechanic in the rockland, maine, area?

TrekkerJmm

Welcome to CF from Tj... Sounds like a vacuum leak under the hood, you may have a bad brake booster (or its going bad) or a cracked vacuum line. I'm sure the nice jeepers on this forum can help you out with a mechanic...Tj

fonman25

The noise described does indeed sound like a vacuum leak, but since it is cyclic, or going on and off at a semi-regular pace I would be more inclined to say it is probably your egr valve. It is vacuum controlled, and is capable of both a vacuum leak, and an exhaust leak. It would also probably get louder over time. Definitely worth a look!

prerunner1982

I agree that it sounds like a vacuum leak. If it was a fuel pump you would hear it from the back, I know as I have had one that hums all the time and has for 4 or 5 years..

Also welcome to CF!

99jeepgirl

thanks muchly for the help! now i'll sound (somewhat) intelligent when i bring 'er into the shop!!

p.s. - tj - sweet grafix

prerunner1982

Jeepgirl... you might pop the hood and take a look at it yourself. Maybe a good time to learn.. if you can hear the noise on the inside, then you should certainly be able to hear it with the hood open. See if you can track it down.... and then of course post here so we can help you fix it. Why pay someone to do something you can do on your own?