92 cherokee xj 2dr
4.0 252ci l6

Jeeps running like it's got bad fuel (possibility eliminated, fuels fine). Cap, rotor, and plugs are maybe a month old and has a brand new oem ballast resistor. Fuel pump is louder than normal inside the car and outside it sounds worse (high pitched whining)

Going to test pressure at some point but until then, what are the chances that the pump is dying? It sounds almost like my buddy's 88 did when the sock fell apart and got pulled bout halfway into the pump.

Edit: no engine codes. Only time it ever wants to throw a code is when the battery has a bad connection. (Replaced battery terminals recently to remedy the problem)

 

Chances are pretty good the FP is dying. Pressure test tells all. Static pressure while running should be steady at spec, then shut off to see if it holds pressure to whatever the spec is for a 92 cherokee, something like at least 30lbs after 5 minutes. Maybe others can chime in with what that is. Mine made not good noises before it quit too.
Whatever the problem is you should first eliminate the fuel pump.

 

Increasing noise on a fuel pump is usually not a good sign. With them being pretty easy to replace on your vintage, I'd recommend replacing it. With a new (not rebuilt) one.

You can test fuel pressure and while it is always something a technician will do, you can have a fuel pump that is getting louder and doomed for failure that is still going to test within spec.

Bottom line is this. If this was mine, I would replace the fuel pump. And it would NOT be with an Airtex! Search and you'll find out why.

 

Oh I know all about the airtex pumps. Thanks for the replies. Probably time to change it anyway. I'm at 168k on the OD and I know the service life of these pumps was only estimated to be around ~90k or so

 

Should be the first step in a proper diagnosis, not the last.