AW4 whining noise

[Joeya]

I have a 1997 cherokee sport 4.0/AW4 that has started to make a whining noise when in gear. The tranny shifts and works great as it should, But anytime it is in gear it whines. The whine is about like a powrsteering pump really low on fluid or a roots style supercharger.
I have been trying to trouble shoot it and have pretty much determind it to be the torque converter, Since it only whines when it is in gear (load on the converter) it also seems to go away when the converter locks up in OD. I have changed the filter and flushed it out with fresh dex3, And it made no difference to the noise.

Has anybody heard this before? or have any knowledge of whats going on in there?

Thanks in advance

[BlueCuda]

I know it sounds like the tranny but you might try and take the belt off to rule out any accesorie on the front. I killed my alternator a few weeks ago and put my spare on, it sounds like a paxton blower lol. It would be worth it to pull the belt and fire it up for a minute and see what things sound like.

[Joeya]

We'll the thing that makes me believe it is the tranny is the fact that it only does it in gear? Seems like it would do it all the time if it was something engine related?? I guess i was hoping that it was some what common and i could find out an approximent level of importance to fixing it?

[killerfly128]

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I am experiencing the same thing on my truck. It started after I was playing with the "manual" shift settings and when starting in 1-2 it would accelrate normal but when I came off the gas it would jump down into 1 at 4k RPM .... I have no idea what is going on here.

[old_man]

Originally Posted by Joeya

We'll the thing that makes me believe it is the tranny is the fact that it only does it in gear? Seems like it would do it all the time if it was something engine related?? I guess i was hoping that it was some what common and i could find out an approximent level of importance to fixing it?

In gear also means the engine mounts are loaded where as in neutral, they are not. I would still pull the belt just to be sure. I've even seen cracked headers do something similar due to the flexing of the mounts.

[killerfly128]

Originally Posted by old_man

In gear also means the engine mounts are loaded where as in neutral, they are not. I would still pull the belt just to be sure. I've even seen cracked headers do something similar due to the flexing of the mounts.

I am running poly mounts and a borla header. Both are in good health. It is more like a high pitched mechanical whine ... not a belt squeek.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by killerfly128

I am running poly mounts and a borla header. Both are in good health. It is more like a high pitched mechanical whine ... not a belt squeek.

There is a pump inside the transmission that can make that noise when it is going bad, but I would rule out everything else that can make similar noises before going to trouble and expense to remove the transmission.


Charles

[Redsnake]

Subscribing... I'm not sure I'm hearing the same noise/whine/squeak... but it sounds similar. Mine is only present when I'm sitting at a light, stopped, in D. When I accelerate the sound goes away on my '96XJ (Auto, 4.0).

Hopefully we'll get this one figured out... I HATE to have to pull my tranny and replace a pump.

[2stix]

i had the same whinning noise as the OP. only in forward and reverse gear. with a stethascope i tracked the noise to the bellhousing area of the trans. i ended up removing the trans but replacing it with another from a donor vehicle. i have yet to dissassemble the old trans, but the torque converter does have a strange noise inside when turned by hand. i realize this can still be the pump in the front of the trans, but it sounded more like the converter to me.

[BrokenSockets]

Same here as original post.

Whine in gear with AW4, seems to go away at lockup, but shifts are just fine. (bit of a hard shift between FW and R gears, however not necessarily related in any way)

DEFINITELY coming from the bellhousing area.

The PO said it had been this way for the four years he had owned it and except for the whining, no problems appeared.

Unless something stops working the way it should, I can't justify dropping the transmission to tinker with it.

Just keeping up good maintenence and fluid changes and waiting for something to indicate a deteriorating condition.

[2stix]

thats exactly how mine was acting. no problems at all but the noise. i swapped it out since i had one here that only had 160k on it VS the 255k the original had. the main reason i swapped is that i figured it to be the torque converter which can heat up the trans when climbing and crawling, and wanted to make the jeep run as cool as possible. since the swap i am now dealing with other problems. i have no second gear. did at first but now nothing. i have just did the pin test and found i have no ohms on shift solenoid #2, 25.5 ohms on converter clutch solenoid, and almost no voltage at C9 with lever in the D position. oh and battery voltage at both brake on and brake off at C10. the C10 may be because i swapped the bendix antilock system with a 95 booster/master/pedal and the brake switch on the 95 only had 2 wires. i have brake lights and such, but i think i may have not connected the converter lock up release wire. next i will check the solenoids at the trans to make sure its not the wire loom/connections.
moral to this story? you may be on the right track to leave it alone untill a more serious problem exists. your call. i am probably hurting the trans more now as i need to drive it still. and with no proper lock up on the converter and no second gear, i am stressing the trans much more than when it had the whinning noise.

[philip_g]

I have a similar problem, it sounds worse in 2nd and third and only under hard acceleration, from about 3,000 RPM to wherever it shifts, don't know if mine is a similar problem to yours or not. I just checked the fluid level (hot) and it was just a bit below the max line, for grins I wrapped it up to about 3,000 RPM in neutral and I could swear I still heard it, maybe it's an alternator going out. I'll wait until it makes itself more known

[mmmkay325]

Just curious if you ever found the cause of that noise.....mine does the exact same thing

[mmmkay325]

Originally Posted by philip_g

I have a similar problem, it sounds worse in 2nd and third and only under hard acceleration, from about 3,000 RPM to wherever it shifts, don't know if mine is a similar problem to yours or not. I just checked the fluid level (hot) and it was just a bit below the max line, for grins I wrapped it up to about 3,000 RPM in neutral and I could swear I still heard it, maybe it's an alternator going out. I'll wait until it makes itself more known

Just wondering if you ever found the cause of this noise....mine 98XJ is doing the exact same thing

[RCP Phx]

He hasn't even been on here in 3yrs to a 8yr old post!