Hi guys my 95" 4.0 Cherokee Limited has been squeaking for some time now, and after a new belt and two new pulleys ( viscous fan pulley and the smooth tensioner pulley.. i'm getting pretty sick of the squeak/squeal that gets progressively worse the higher RPM you use. The squeak appears to be on the right hand side of the engine bay.

After searching this forum, some posts have blamed the noise on a cracked power steering pulley. I am assuming they are pressed together and i am wondering if the small gap in mine is normal... or could be the reason behind my squeak. ( See photos below!!)

All bearings have no play obvious play in, and the belt seems to have come forward on the fan pulley ( the one i have changed to attempt fixing the noise) so the front edge of the belt is beginning to lie on the beveled part that goes round to the front of the pulley.

I hope the images work for you guys, this is driving me nuts and costing me a few quid each time changing perfectly ok parts!

Any help, or experience would be GREAT!

 

Assuming you have RHD and an automatic belt tensioner on your 4.0, did you change just the tensioner pulley or the whole tensioner? Change the whole tensioner assembly if you haven't already done so. Otherwise, if the squeak you refer to is more of a chirp...you might want to check the harmonic balancer pulley... the concentric parts must be perfectly aligned...if the rubber between them has started to deteriorate and the parts shift (even just a little bit) it will cause the belt to make a chirping noise and cause belt tracking problems.

 

Thanks for the reply Carl.

I didn't know about the Harmonic balancer deterioration, i will see if i can have a look at it tomorrow. She's only done 115K, but you could be on to something there.

As for the tensioner pulley, I may have been a little unclear in my terminology. The pulley i changed was not the spring loaded tensioner pulley, rather the smooth one next to it that doesn't drive anything, Morris 4x4 call it a "Idler Pulley For Tensioner Bracket" found herehttp://www.jeep4x4center.com/idler-p...-53002905.html.

I have replaced this part also.

I put a new belt on also - made it squeal like hell - the belt was more taught than the original i have put back on.

Do you think my power steering pulley looks normal?

Cheers again!

 

It's your harmonic balancer. It will desperate and start moving forward until your mechanical fan strikes the balancer. Look at the difference in the old a new balancer.

 

Hey Guys, sorry for the long reply! and thanks for your replies!

I have had a look and as far as i can see the Harmonic looks in line with the pulleys, i am going to have a good look when the recent snowfall melts in the coming days and i can get underneath it with a jack.

I am also going to take a photo of my belt routing for you guys to see, i believe it is different on the RHD Cherokees, i will get it on here later today.

I still have a feeling its either the power steering pump or the A/C however because they are the pulleys before and after the viscous fan pulley that the belt is sitting forward on.

In other news i have spent the last few days pulling a selection of Audi's and BMW's out from snow drifted roads around where i live - i ain't half glad i bought some new tires last week! Even "ploughed" one with fresh powder half way up my grille.. needless to say its been a great weekend!

 

Just thrown together a small video showing how the belt is sat and the noise made, i cant work out how to embed it so you can find it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnWnh...ature=youtu.be

 

If you see the video you will see the unusualy far forward belt position on the viscous fan pulley, if you look at the picture below you will see it is fed by the power steering pump (which is also leaking slightly)

this leaves me with two options,

1) the p/s fluid is contaminating the pulley
2) some major isssue with the power steering pump

any ideas would be greatly appreciated guys!!!

 

A water pump going out makes quite a similar noise, and causes the belt to ride forward also.

 

If it is something on the serp belt (Idle pulley bearing), you can pull the belt, start the engine and see if the noise is gone.

To help isolate it even further grab a long screwdriver and put it on the part that you think is making the noise and put your ear to the screwdriver. Sounds dumb, but you will be able to hear what is making the noise.

Just probe around with this until you find it.

 

I was going to say the same thing, remove the belt and run it just to make sure it's not in the engine, then use a screw driver or a 3 ft garden hose to listen around. While the belt is off, see if you have any up and down play at all. Let us know and we will go from there

 

I wish it was the pump, but that got changed 25k ago, so i very much doubt it there is no fluid from the telltale hole the only fluid i loose in an occasional radiator weep before the radiator sealent bungs it up again!

However i will pull the belt off again later and do what you suggest for sure, as i haven't had it started whilst the belt is off before.

I have had a good swing on the pulleys whilst the belt is off and there is no play whatsoever.

Now here is a thought, considering that the power steering pulley doesn't seem to be feeding the viscous fan pulley properly, could the pulley have moved forward?

To help show this a little better, watch this great video by BleepinJeep, if you skip to 7:40 to show you what i mean...

 

The FSM says to initially position the pulley flush with the end of the p/s pump shaft...then, if there is belt chirp to move it back or forward a bit until the chirp disappears. If you think this is the source of your noise, you could try pressing the pulley a bit further onto the shaft...don't go too far or the pulley will hit the bracket. There is a special tool that is used to install/remove the pulley.

 

#FIXED IT##

Incredibly annoying how these things work out actually, after loosing my instrument lights and side lights with intermittent rear lights and headlights i threw in the towel and dropped her off at my local jeep mechanic.

After sorting out the earth fault that was causing endless issues and blowing fuses for the last few months - an broken wire somewhere underneath my gear selector by all accounts, I asked if he could lend his wisdom to the cause or my squeak

Anyway later i get a call saying your belts knackard, after telling him there was a new one in the car that i had taken back off cause it was so noisy he threw a new belt of the brand he uses on - - - - and guess what? SILENT!!!!

So needless to say its made me feel pretty stupid, the first thing i changed was the cause... unfortunately it was a duff product..

But hey, i suppose thats Jeeping for you! I cant tell you how nice it is to hear my engine again!!!

Cheers for all your help with this guys, i hope this thread can give others some help in the future

 

I might find out the name and model of the belt actually - post it on here