4 cyl harmonic balancer durability

I have changed the balancer on every one of my 6 cyl XJ's at one point or another, but have never had a 4 cyl until now-- does anyone have first hand experience on the durability of the balancer for the 4 cyl engine?

I am experiencing a noticeable "whine" on initial start up when the temp is below 45* that sounds like a gear drive timing set. The belt is new (5000 miles- Mopar belt),the idler pulleys are new (5000 miles- Dayco product), the water pump is new (5000 miles GMB product), and the balancer did not show any signs of separation during the overhaul.

-The "whine" will last approximately 2 minutes and the pitch is dependent on engine RPM (higher whine with increased RPM)
-Steering input does not change the noise
-Charging is not affected by the noise
-belt is correctly tensioned (assuming the specs are the same as my 4.0L)
-fan clutch seems to pass hot/cold tests (maybe just the fluid coupling needing to allow free wheeling takes too long??)

I'm leaning toward the balancer, but if anything else sounds possible, I'm open to ideas.

A**uming your 4 cylinder has a serpentine belt then the specs are the same as the 4.0 belt.

joe_peters said:

A**uming your 4 cylinder has a serpentine belt then the specs are the same as the 4.0 belt.

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Grrrrr-- yeah, '94 2.5L low output. :gee:

:looser: nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I guess I'll go eat worms....:looser:

I'm still open to other thoughts-- really, I'm not afraid to entertain them. I'm just not close enough to the Jeep to look at the balancer or fan clutch 'til Sunday......

You got a/c in that critter? Could you be leaving the HVAC controls set on "defrost" the night before so the compressor is engaging right on start up? Had a lot of vehicles that made noise that way.

religiously shut the HVAC off before I shut it down-- don't like changing ignition and blower switches if I don't have too.

I'm thinking I might actually have to... gasp-- lift the hood and start listening to things before I figure it out:twak:

I guess laziness will only get me so far- it's time to dust off the stethoscope and give her a check up. Where do you put the stethoscope on a 4cyl when you have it turn it's head and cough?

Shorty said:

religiously shut the HVAC off before I shut it down-- don't like changing ignition and blower switches if I don't have too.

I'm thinking I might actually have to... gasp-- lift the hood and start listening to things before I figure it out:twak:

I guess laziness will only get me so far- it's time to dust off the stethoscope and give her a check up. Where do you put the stethoscope on a 4cyl when you have it turn it's head and cough?

Click to expand...

Yeah Shorty, keyboards and monitors rarely fix Jeeps...............Hasta

Put your grubbies on and head outside.....