Another oddball noise from a Jeep!

So my XJ also has funny noises. Theres only one I'm concerned with right now and it's coming from my engine.

It's a very faint 'low-power-steering-fluid' sound. A whining noise coming from the front, lower part of my engine. It sounds VERY much like a power steering whine on the inside and outside...but it's not my steering! (All my PS fluid is there though, so don't ask me to check ), and there are no Fords around when I hear the noise.

The whining's pitch does go up and down with the engine's RPM...the only thing down there I can think of is my alternator...which hasnt shown any signs of death yet.

(Sorry for the dumb question, this is easier than taking off a skid plate and splash gaurd in the cold just to hear for a sound :X)

Any insight appreciated.

Undo the belt and spin the alternator, also check for play, I had a new looking alternator that just saw too much mud, I had the new power steering pump and was taking it apart to change it when my dad says spin the alternator, he returned with a long piece of string,we wound it up and spun it.returned the pump and got an alternator

while you're down there-- check the harmonic balancer and verify it's not rubbing the timing cover. that's fairly comon on the 4.0 (I'm assuming it's a 4.0)

@ bcmaxx, I will bite the bullet tommorow and pull the plate to spin my alternator. I was hoping for someone else's first hand accounts on this before I started any actual 'work' :doh:

:cheers:

But yes it is a 4.0, it's a 2000.

you should be able to pull and spin alt from the top-- provided it's not 10 feet in the air! If it's the alt, you'll prolly be able to hear it without gettin' that close, but if it seems good, you'll wanna pull the plate and check the balancer

[FONT=&quot]Have you tried the old heater hose stethoscope trick to track down the noise?
Try that or get a mechanics [/FONT][FONT=&quot]stethoscope.[/FONT]

Sounds like the water pump to me. I just had the exact same thing, it matched the RPM of the engine, and would only squeel at higher RPMs.
just like these guys are saying, pull the belt and check the bearings on all your accessories

I prefer to find noises while they are occurring in their native environment.
That is why I suggested using some sort of stethoscope to track down the noise while the engine is running.
The noise can come from a multitude of sources and many times a bearing will feel OK when examined by hand but still make noise when spinning.
You can almost always find the noise using a 3' piece of heater hose, one end placed against your ear, and the other end moved around the front of the engine until the location of the noise is isolated. Just watch your finders and keep the hose out of the belt.

This is a lot easier than removing the belt and usually a better way of finding a noise. Good luck in your quest.

Yeah, my PS pump sounded the same for a few days before it grenaded. Fluid level was fine too. I think, when I replaced the belt, I over tightened and that was the cause.