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Chirp, Chirp...Bad water pump? Pulley?

Reverend Jim said:
The e-fan has two 8mm bolts at the top, and two tabs on the bottom that lock into place. After you remove the two bolts, just wiggle it from side to side when pulling upward on it and it will come right out. Just be sure to disconnect the plug first.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rev! If I have time after work tomorrow Im going to do this. If not, Ill have to wait till the weekend. Like I said, Im going to try to find the bolt so if it is stripped I have a fresh one to put in. Ive read that pretty much the only place that has this is the stealership...maybe theyll have it in stock.
 
Just dealt with a "chirp" on my 98 XJ. Give a close listen to the distributor. Mine ended up being a bushing failing in the distributor. I replaced it with a reman and the bird has left the coop so to speak. I chased my tail with the serpentine belt and other items. Get a stethoscope or piece of vinyl tubing and give the distributor a listen. You don't want it to seize up on the camshaft.
 
98NWCherokee said:
Just dealt with a "chirp" on my 98 XJ. Give a close listen to the distributor. Mine ended up being a bushing failing in the distributor. I replaced it with a reman and the bird has left the coop so to speak. I chased my tail with the serpentine belt and other items. Get a stethoscope or piece of vinyl tubing and give the distributor a listen. You don't want it to seize up on the camshaft.
Click to expand...

I did the gauge test yesterday and it didnt even read 100lbs (the min on the gauge). So, the first thing Im going to do is tighten the belt up and see if the chirp still happens. To me, it sounds like the chirp is more on the driverside engine bay, around the water pump or idler pulley. But, Ill stethoscope the distributor and see if its making a noise.

Btw, I ordered the idler pulley bolt and the adjuster bolt from the dealership today. The price wasnt as bad as I had expected: the idler bolt was $5 and the adjustment (super long bolt) was $15. At the moment, I dont need the longer one, but Im sure (at some point) the dealership will not be able to order these. Id rather have it now and not need it then have to scour a JY for one later....
 
Update:

Removed the e-fan today and adjusted the belt to 160lbs. No chirp. Ill report back when I do this during a cool/cold morning startup and see if the chirp is present or not. BTW, didnt have to use my dealership bolts...but Ill toss them in the "spare parts" bin for the future :)
 
i had a similar problem and i found that one of the idler pulleys had worn, and the running surface was no longer parallel with the axis, so the belt would start to run off, to a point then pull back as the rest of the pulleys forced it back, at that point it chirped

hope that makes sense, its hard to describe.
 
One thing I haven't seen yet in this thread is the brand of belts that are chirping. I went through this years ago with both my '92 and '96. In both cases, it was recommended right here on NAXJA that I try either a Goodyear Gatorback or Gates brand belt. My local NAPA sells Gates, and in both cases the Gates belts did the trick. I tried the tightening trick until I took out the idler pulley bearing on my '96, and it still chirped. New bearing, new Gates belt, no more birds! Get a Krikit II belt gauge from NAPA while you're at it, to keep from going gonzo tightening the belt. 180-200 new, 140-160 used (more than 15 minutes) is the recommended tightness for our belts. Continued chirping/chafing/grinding may point to another problem, but at least get a belt that shouldn't be the problem in and of itself.
 
heyhar said:
One thing I haven't seen yet in this thread is the brand of belts that are chirping. I went through this years ago with both my '92 and '96. In both cases, it was recommended right here on NAXJA that I try either a Goodyear Gatorback or Gates brand belt. My local NAPA sells Gates, and in both cases the Gates belts did the trick. I tried the tightening trick until I took out the idler pulley bearing on my '96, and it still chirped. New bearing, new Gates belt, no more birds! Get a Krikit II belt gauge from NAPA while you're at it, to keep from going gonzo tightening the belt. 180-200 new, 140-160 used (more than 15 minutes) is the recommended tightness for our belts. Continued chirping/chafing/grinding may point to another problem, but at least get a belt that shouldn't be the problem in and of itself.
Click to expand...

Bumping an old thread, but can anyone confirm that the above specs for serpentine belt tension are correct? I'm dealing with a slipping belt on my '91 and want to get a tension gauge and make sure the tension is within range. It's already very tight so I don't want to tighten it any more until I measure it.
 
I was in Advance Auto recently, and asked about the 'belt chirping' problem, as we now have FIVE (!) XJs, and was told that in addition to the width and number of grooves on a belt, there are two different shapes of the little 'V's on the belt. The Dayco brand that they peddle have the wrong shape of V, and the belt is constantly squirming trying to settle into the grooves. Makes sense, I guess...
 
Interesting, I'll have to look and see what kind of belt is on my XJ currently. I did replace the belt earlier this summer for an unrelated reason, and it had been pretty much silent with the new belt until the arrival of fall recently. The old belt would chirp no matter the weather, but always more so if it was cold or damp out. The new one was quiet all summer, but now that it's October it's back to chirping every day.

It's definitely chirping due to belt slippage, but I have not yet pinpointed exactly where it's slipping. I've tried using a piece of heater hose as a makeshift stethoscope, but it's really hard to tell what pulley it's slipping on. I'm thinking checking the belt tension would be a good idea, and if it's within spec and still chirps, I'd think that maybe one of my pulleys is out of alignment by a minuscule amount?

Heyhar, where did you find the spec for the belt tension? Do you remember if those specs applied to all XJ's with the 4.0L, or just certain years? I just want to make sure I get it set right. I really should buy a FSM...
 
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It was probably about five or six years ago, while wrestling with your very same problem, that I'd posted on this forum, singing the blues about the flock of birds under the hood. That's when one of the more astute contributors, Rich P, turned me on to the brands of belts, the KrikitII from NAPA, and the proper tensions. Haven't seen much of Rich P around these parts lately, here's hoping all is well with him. Anyway, I wrote the proper tension on the box, so I'll always have it with the tool. We have a variety of different XJs, some with each different tightening method. The specs seem to work well with both formats.
 
you'll probably find the belt is too loose. I had an issue with alternator slipping under load and while the belt "felt" tight it was way under spec when I checked it with the Krikit. I have mine pretty loose (110-120 lbs. by the Krikit) and it feels stupid tight to me, but I'm used to V-belts.
 
What is the belt's tension setting, according to your handy-dandy Krikit II tension gauge?
 
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