rgs80074

Hello Everyone,

Thursday I started my vehicle and heard a bunch of noise and smoke started to come from under my engine hood. by the time i turned off the vehicle and opened the hood it all had dissipated so I was not able to really figure out where it came from but it smelled like burnt rubber.

I think its the ac compressor froze up and the belt was being forced to move on a pulley that was no longer moving.

here's the reason I think this and wondering what everyone thinks.

Two days before when leaving for work the belt was squealing when I started it and the alternator meter went down to 9 volts. turned off the ac and everything went back to normal.

fast forward two days and the same thing started the jeep after it was stopped a squeal volts down to 9 and this time smoke. turned off the ac and restarted the vehicle no squeals normal volts right around 14 and no smoke.

just wondering if i have to do some major work before i return to work after my vacation or if i can just continue driving it as long as I don't turn on the ac until I can get the compressor replaced if not too hard to do so.

thanks

ryan

Bustedback

Yep, your A/C compressor is no good.

dave1123

Yes, I'd say you can continue to drive it without using the A/C as long as the belt isn't too bad now. You might want to change the belt to be sure it doesn't break or fly off.

rgs80074

the belt still looks fine. it only did it for a few seconds before i turned off the vehicle.

seems to be when first starting up if the engine is already running the ac turns on and runs without a problem at least for now.

the belt was brand new so was not an old belt that had this happen too.

anything special I have to do to replace the compressor.

If i recall right from my last jeep and watching the mechanic its just basically to
diconnect the battery
disconnect the wire haress from the compressor
remove the two lines from it
take off the 4 bolts holding the compressor on and replace with new one
repeat steps in reverse.

I know i have to put in pag oil as well

thanks

ryan

dave1123

To be totally legal, you should have the system evacuated first. Use new seals on the hoses or you might develop leaks and a new drier is good insurance. My wife's Dodge Caravan toasted 2 compressors because moisture in the system froze the orifice in the evaporator and liquid freon backed up and locked the compressor.

rgs80074

So I just went to do some errands in my jeep. Its been sitting for the last 9 days while I was up north on vacation.

Got about two blocks away and could smell burning rubber while not using the ac.

Immediately went back home and opened the hood. Still no smoke but something wasn't right. Had them start the vehicle and I noticed something not quite right. My idler pulley was not turning. So turned off the vheicle and proceeded to loosen it figuring I somehow over tightened it or something.

At the point it all turned it made noises and was very wobbly so I started to tightened it little by little. Got to a spot where I felt comfortable to drive the vehicle the short distance and decided to turn on the ac hurt some noise and shut off the vehicle.

well I guess the idler was bad it came off. didn't see any bearing on the ground but there was bearings missing from the back of the pulley.

so going to replace that. My question is after I replace that I hope to see if the compressor is/was bad or if it was just the idler. Heck my power steering pump might not have been bad it might have been that too.

ryan

dave1123

Yeah, okay. My '97 did the same thing. I went to the junkyard, bought one for $3, mounted to in about 10 minutes, and it lasted until I sold the jeep. That's the stationary one. The adjustment idler might take a little more time. Sorry I didn't think about it before. It must have been a senior moment! LOL!

rgs80074

Well Dave123

My first thought was the ac as well since the noise and such went away when the ac was turned off (ac might still be bad will know tomorrow).

Had I know still smelled the rubber today and checked and just happened to notice it was not moving I might had been kept driving it thinking it was just left over from previously.

I wish I was more mechanically inclined and why all of a sudden people keep asking me mechanical questions is beyond me.

I still have a few other things to do to the jeep but nothing that keeps it from running good for work and such.

I have that aftermarket blower motor from antoher post installed but its wired poorly and even though I have different forces of air coming out of the vents I think the old blower motor is still in the compartment and I think thats causing the air to come out slower than it should. Plus it needs to be wired correctly so no bare wires are showing and its all nice and neat.

Plus still have to drill the hole to be able to unclog the condensation drain.

then other than two couple of things its keeping an eye out for manual seats, figuring out the door locking issue (no doors lock or unlock except for the rear hatch) even though sound wise it sounds as if they are working.

would like to pain the jeep as well but thats all stuff down the road.

cause besides getting this running right I have a van that needs work.

Ryan

ps Dave123 your awesome you answer so many questions even.

rgs80074

update:

Replaced the pulley, cost about $17 bucks brand new. Can only tell if its all good after a few days of driving but while sitting there and testing and such it seems like the pulley might have been a problem.

I have it nice and snug and the belt does not squeal or smoke when the ac gets turned on now so it appears the ac compressor is fine but before that added friction caused the belt to slip.

The belt itself still looks and functions just fine, still have the old belt as well that looks good.

Think there is some air in the cooling system though but that will work its way out over time as it circulates through the system.

Ryan

dave1123

About the seats, they are 2 parts. The seat itself and the base system. The seat cushion bolts to the base with 4 nuts from the bottom and they can be mounted on an electric base or a manual adjusting base. You can find the manual base in Cherokees (XJ) or base model Grands (ZJ). The WJs have a different floor pan so the bases are different, but I just put Cherokee seats in my WJ. The whole seat assemblies cost me $15 each at U-pull, U-save.

To bleed air out of the 4.0, with the engine cold remove the rad cap, take out the temp sensor, fill it until coolant runs out the sensor hole, put the sensor back in, and fill it the rest of the way. If you install the heater hose from the thermostat housing into the lower of the heater core pipes, the air in the heater core will bleed out itself.

rgs80074

Hello Dave1123


For the seats I've been keeping an eye out at some of the junk yards so far no luck(also looking for a spare tire carrier for the back of my van). Also check craigslist but so far all I've found are electric ones and I want to go away from those.

On the air in the coolant system. I am not sure what temp sensor your talking about but If I am correct it would be the one by the power steering pump and not the one back at the behind area of the engine. I think the air is working its way out little by little the noises it was making is getting less and less and I've had to top it off with water, not much just a little.

I recently completely drained the radiator (left everything open for two days), replaced both the upper and lower hoses. Since those repairs I ran the jeep for about a week probably would not have even noticed the drop in the fluid lvl or the noise had it not been for the other issues.

It a fact I still have an oil leak, its slow so not going to do anything at this time but next oil change I am going to remove the adapter if I can figure out how to. The prior owner said he had an oil leak he just fixed there and when I did an oil change it appeared to me oil was leaking from the filter itself so it must be the adapter since the way it sits I'd think anything else leaking oil would not hit it.

Update on the smoking issue. Good news is that it appears it was just the cheap $17 buck pulley that had seized up. Today I took it for a short test drive, no noises, no smoke, no burning rubber smell, etc. Even had the ac on so my compressor is good (that's a bundle I saved from replacing it).

Ryan

dave1123

Yes, the temp sensor I'm talking about is the one just behind the thermostat. My '97 only had one. The oil leak just may be the o-ring seal on the filter adapter. When they leak, oil runs along the oil pan edge and drips off it at the rear, making it look like a rear seal leak.

As I've said, you have to look at Cherokees to find manual adjusting seats.

rangermonroe

there are three o-rings in the adapter. The big one under the cover and two on the shaft.

dave1123

Yeah, I think it's the big one that causes external leaks. The other 2 just direct the oil thru the filter.

rgs80074

Maybe I can just buy an o ring kit for it or something.


As for the seats I have to keep an lookout at the yards for them. Its just not common it seems for them to be there and when they get them not for very long.

I saw one yard lkq, had gotten like 4 grand cherokee's in while I was away on vac and when I got back they no longer was listed in the yards inventory. I was told they get stripped pretty fast.

I'd really like to find one of them where the vehicles still have k&n air and oil filters. I really like their oil filter but I can't bring myself to spend almost $300 for an oil filter.

I've not noticed the coolant noise any more I think most of the air has worked its way out of the system.