Does anyone else's XJ sound supercharged?

[Swamprat]

huh, sorta had the same hing happen to my atv, but i drove it for two years on busted piston rings XD. my sound came from the exhaust, and wasn't really loud...i hope i helpped XP

 

[HttpWayne]

1) get a mechanics stetoscope (parts stores have them super cheap and looks just like a doctors stetoscope but with a tip at the end) and VERY VERY CAREFULLY find spots behind each pulley to listen to. BE VERY CAREFULLY NOT TO GET HIT BY THE BELT, PULLEY OR FAN.

It amazes me how a thread goes to almost 3 pages before someone gives some good advise. Don't throw money at it and try to guess what the problem is---take 5 minutes and find the problem.

Agreed. I can't believe how much fluff there is in this forum. In the ProbeTalk forum people get right down to the answer; every now and then there's a good joke or two; here it's BS'n for a few pages until someone takes the time to cut through the speculation and give good scientific advice.

I'm actually having the same problem right now. Yesterday my fan came completely off the belt line while I was backing up in the yard (so glad it wasn't on the highway as I've been driving all over this state and Ga). The fan ate the shroud but didn't touch the radiator (part of the AC Bracket/fan pulley design). The bearing finally kicked the bucket. there were slivers and shards of metal all in the bay.

So I got a replacement AC bracket that has the fan pulley attached to it from another member on another forum (floridajeepers). His is the same year as mine but has been sitting out in the ocala forest for a few years doing nothing. It was old.

So I reassmble everything and go for a drive. The only thing I hear on the way to the store is the fan slapping at the shroud (I took it off when I got back home). After I fill up the tank I leave to go home. Suddenly when I let off the gas a little I get this god-awful squealing from the inside of the engine bay. My first though as I was making a turn was PS pump?

I'm driving down the next road and when I brake and begin to slow down it squeals like a pig needing to be put down and I'm going straight. Everyone on the side of the road doing community service looks at me. So that tells me maybe the belt was too tight or not tight enough.

After I get home I loosen it; just as soon as I crank it up it's squealing. So I turn it off, and TIGHTEN it, good and tight. Crank it, the squeal is now gone.
NOW it's sounding supercharged....

I looked at the fan immediately suspecting that to be the culprit since I changed it. I noticed there was a small gap between the fan and the pulley the belt wraps around; I turn it off and tighten all the nuts (they were all loose, loose enough that the fan was about to start coming off). I turn it on, the howling's still there (when the hood is open, it sounds like it's howling; when you hit the gas, from inside when the RPMs get higher it sounds like a supercharger).
I crank the gas a few times, let it idle, and turn it off. The nuts are slightly loose this time. I tighten them as tight as I can get them and crank it up, gas it, and let it idle a while longer. The howling/supercharging is still there so I turn it off and inspect the nuts holding the fan on again. they're still actually tight this time. I crank it up again and still it howls.

I'm not sure what it is, but I've experienced enough bearing failures in these XJ's already to know it's probably going to be another bearing.

My 93 Idler ate up and left metal shards all over the engine bay when I was on my way down from Big Bear mountain and was in the middle of NOWHERE in the desert. My phone didn't even get service and it was freezing ass cold in the winter (went up there to see some snow). I had to leave it there until I could get a replacement.
All that day while I was up in big bear I could hear something different in the engine bay, but I didn't have a clue what it was.
The same with my 98 that just did it to me two nights ago. For a while I heard a change in it but didn't know what it was. Now the noise I hear sounding supercharged is real loud and noticeable compared to the other two; so if it IS a bearing, given the much louderness of it, I expect it to go real soon.
SideNote:
I replaced the serpentine belt while I was at it with one from napa and it has the "hill-like" ribs in it. If anyone else has that belt and they've been hearing this noise for years maybe that's what it is. Just a thought.

...and that's all I got to say about that.

 

[scorpio_vette]

if you hear the whine, don't wait for it to fail so you know which one it is.

take off the serpentine belt, and then spin up each pulley by hand as good as you can. make sure you keep the music of while you do this because if you listen real closely, you'll hear the bad pulley make a very very very faint grinding, whining noise when you spin it by hand. so with the belt off you can spin each pulley by hand until you figure out which one is making noise.

fix your damn rigs properly people. putting stuff off can get more expensive when it finally fails.

 

[xj4fun]

1) get a mechanics stetoscope (parts stores have them super cheap and looks just like a doctors stetoscope but with a tip at the end)

X2 - problem can be quickly identified .

 

[poorboy_616]

Just an afterthought.....

Make sure your catalytic converter isn't melting and causing a blockage....(if it's not already broken up and plugging eveyrthing else....)

Our 94 Chyrsler did that to us.....

 

[dogsled1]

you guys are all way off. I know exactly the noise you are trying to describe. My parents neighbor had two cherokees, and they always made this engine noise, mine does it now, only when it is first started and only for a little bit, I don't have a clue what it is, you should record it and post it.

Ditto. I have an '01, exactly the same, goes away after a few minutes, I quite worrying about it long ago.

 

[Blaine B.]

It is probably the clutch fan if it goes away really quick! The fan is locked up initially but then unlocks after spinning for a short while.....

 

[Emerscape]

Looks like I've got a similar problem Think I traced it down to the power steering pulley. With the engine running I can hear a very faint grinding noise. How hard is it to replace. I looked at the FSM and it says I need a special puller and installer. Can I get one of these at Autozone? Do I need to pull the whole power steering pump? Sorry it didn't seem that clear and I'm exhausted.

 

[hubs97xj]

The pulley is just that- a pulley. If you have a noise from the pump/pulley, it's probably the pump. Yes, parts stores sell pullers, and you will need to swap the pulley from the old pump to the new pump.