'98 4.0 squealing and now overheating?

[XJGrl]

Ok....my brief synopsis.....

About 3 months ago, I started hearing this strange squeal from under my hood. I noticed that it pretty much only occurs when running the A/C. Sometimes it will start squealing while sitting at a light and get extremely loud and shrieking when accelerating from the light. Turning the A/C off stops the squealing in general.

When I returned to Baltimore after graduation, I took the Jeep in for some random service. I told the mechanic about the squeal and that we thought MAYBE the A/C compressor was locking up. He looked at the Jeep for a day and said that he just replaced the belt cause it looked worn out. I tried to tell him that I didn't think that was the problem, but he wouldn't have it from me!

I have been driving around with this new belt on and pretty much no squeal for about a month now. All of a sudden today, the squeal came back. I was running the A/C and I noticed the squeal getting fairly loud and obnoxious again. When I merged onto the highway, I turned the A/C off for good measure and rolled the windows down. After merging onto the highway and getting up to speed, my stupid temperature dummy light kicked on. I drove about 1/4 mile and decided not to be stupid and just to pull over. As soon as I turned the engine off, the steam started billowing. I hopped out and opened the hood and it steamed for a good 5 minutes before cooling off.

I was scared the death that flames were gonna come shooting out!! (non-sense I guess) I called AAA and they towed me to my mom's mechanic again where the Jeep now sits. He opens at 8am tomorrow and I am going to be there to talk to him. Do any of you have any valuable words of wisdom for me?

I have a 600 mile drive to make next week, so I need to get this fixed CORRECTLY this time. Thanks in advance........

Emily "XJGrl" Davis
esd408@aol.com

[CHW]

Sounds like the idler pulley. Probably had a bad bearing that finally let go causing the belt to come off. The pulley costs $15.00 at any auto parts store.

[XJGrl]

replaced that not terribly long ago....belt is still there, tight, and doesnt feel worn out to me....i checked after it went nuts tonight.

[RichP]

The compressor clutch free wheelswhen the compressor or ac is turned off, when you turn on the ac or the defrosters the clutch engages and spins the compressor. Could be a bad clutch and compressor that finally went, seized and turning the ac off it was too late. Either way the tstat is toast and maybe the pressure cap.
Notice any excessive cycling on the compressor, FSM says more than 5 cycles on cold/fan high low r134.
second question, who did the belt ???

[XJGrl]

Ok...I think I got all of that....

My mom's mechanic, Parvis Naffis, up here near Hunt Valley, MD installed the belt. He has always done good work on her car and I expect the same of mine. However, I didn't really check over anything when I got the Jeep back last time...I figured everything he did was pretty standard procedure.

I am going to tell him to check EVERYTHING......thermostat is definitely toast now tho?? Why? I wish I took engines and powertrains in school now......I guess I'll get my education as I go.

Thanks.

M

[yellowxj]

water pumps done I'd guess. The extra load of turning the ac compressor on the waterpumps worn bearings would cause the extra drag that could cause the squeal. The new belt could grip the dragging water pump pulley and spin it with out slipping until it was too much for it. Now the waterpump is locked or almost locked. Just guessing. Make sure you post the results of the mechanic. Have you been adding water and not seeing any leaks?

[XJGrl]

Never added any water to anything......never thought I had to cause it never overheated before.....believe me, this is greek to me!!

Water pump sounds like the best diagnosis.......I guess it just had enough today and must have siezed up.....or, as you say, maybe the belt had enough.

Went looking at the new Chrysler Crossfire today....Jeep must have gotten jealous......

M

got more??

[DeathByXJ]

My '90 squealed like a pig despite replacing the belt and tightening it to spec.
It only stopped when I replaced the trashed harmonic balancer.
As for overheating, my problems went away once I learned (from these smart guys) how to burp the system. I also found that the el cheapo cap has to be replaced every year.
I had a mechanice tell me the head gasket was blown. That was two years ago. Such BS. The cooling system's poorly designed-- you've just gotta keep an eye on it, you'll be fine.

[DeathByXJ]

Here's a good link explaining how to burp the syetem. and other cooling stuff.

http://www.olypen.com/craigh/cooling.htm

[DeathByXJ]

My bad, sorry. I'll get some glasses...

[Eagle]

When my XJ began eating serpentine belts, it was due to a failing harmonic damper, as DeathbyXJ suggested. A new belt should last more than a month, so something is chewing at it. Check all the pulleys it has to go over, under, around (but not through).

[M. Lake]

Here is a thought. Maybe the a/c system is over charged, or has some other serous problems. I am not no A/C tech, but I know that if you don't have the correct equipment and gauges when filling up the a/c, run the engine with the a/c on and fill up until it squill, then let some out until it quits. Kind of a grusem tacktict, but it works.

[XJGrl]

Ok guys, thanks for all of the wisdom.......

I feel 67% smarter......

Gonna run by the mechanic this morning and keep in close touch all day.....mechanics hate me!!! I don't have any tools up here in bmore and my boyfriend/mechanic is not around......soooooo off to the shop I go!!

I'll post results tonight.

M

[XJGrl]

Ok....Jeep is safe and sound in the driveway.

Here is the diagnonis : new hoses (upper and lower?), radiator flush and fill, new tensioner pully, new thermostat..........

Says they drove it around all day and it consistenly ran "10 to 15 degrees over normal"....but, normal to a car mechanic is about 10-15 degrees lower than a 4.0 right??? we run about 210 correct? I'll call and find out exactly what it ran out....

where is the best place to get some guages from?? should i try another forum!!??

Thanks again for your help.

Emily

[RichP]

You can upgrade your stock gauges with a gauge panel from any 98 or 99 XJ from a boneyard. A couple of companies sell them for around $150 vs ~$500 from the dealer, straight plug n play...
I'm ordering a set as soon as I recover from fixing my sons YJ, the weber cleaned me out, and the EGR, Alternator, ECU, fuel pickup filter, etc.. That YJ has lived up to the JEEP traditon and has emptied every pocket...

[XJGrl]

you got any names on these guage companies? what sort of dissection does it require?? is it REALLY plug and play??

M

[Maximus]

I dont know of the gauge companies but there is Rancho Recyclers out here in Cal that will ship a late model gauge pod to wherever you need it. Their number is 916-635-3800. I also dont know how much they will charge for it either. My 98 is doing the same thing except that it doesnt overheat. I assume it is the idler pulley since my WP is about 4mos. old. Good luck!!

[Eagle]

Hold on. I think XJgrl already has factory gauges, not idiot lights, so a '98 or '99 XJ gauge cluster isn't going to help her. I believe she is looking for more accurate, after-market gauges. Those will definitely NOT be plug-n-play.

[Maximus]

I didnt know if any 97+ came with out all the good stuff. As for me I think my factory guages are plenty accurate, I just want to add some other things for the tranny and so forth, and of course this is not plug and play.

[XJTripp]

After driving an XJ with factory gauges, my complaint with them is that the scale is not linear. You really can't tell what temp you are running. I put a mechanical gauge on mine that has even 10 degree increments from 160 to 230. The problem is that the capillary tube sensor will not fit in the port in the cylinder head. I installed a late model t-stat cover on mine to provide a port for it that was large enough. Now I have the idiot light and an accurate gauge too. Mine is an 89 I gather that you have a 98 and this location would already be in use on yours. I believe I have seen tees that would go into a heater hose or radiator hose that would allow you to hook up a mechanical gauge. My gauge is a Sunpro from Advance Auto, but if budget is not a concern, I would use Stewart Warner or VDO. Try Jeggs or Summit. Installation is pretty simple, its harder to figure out where you want to hook in for night illumination than anything else.

[RichP]

I don't think she has gauges, first post mentions 'dummy light' coming on. Do the factory gauges have both gauge and dummy lights ??

[XJGrl]

Nope....no guages.....just a bunch of lights......doesn't do me much good does it????

i know SOMEONE made guages for the A-pilliar.....but, a whole replacement "dash" would work too if i dont have to destroy anything.

m

[RichP]

Everybody who has done it says it's a snap in. Remove center bezel, 4 - 6 screws, pull out old cluster, insert new cluster. I had mine out to fix the pin problem and it took me about 45 min w/o looking at the FSM, if I had looked at the fsm it probably would have taken half the time :D

[seanR]

For what it is worth the dash with factory gages also has a 'one size fits all' idiot ligt. It says 'Check Gauges'

[XJGrl]

HaHa......

Ok.....I'll look into all of this.....thanks for all of your help.

I am headed down to NC next week and won't have time to do any of this before that trip. Hopefully I will make it and can just put it off for a little while longer!!!!

em