Cherokee 95 engine whine

[Pauldownunder]

I have a '95 Cherokee Limited with a 4.0L straight six. It has developed a high pitch whine which is very annoying and quite loud. Seems to be coming from the front of the engine compartment. Initially I thought it was the power steering pump, but the noise is not constant and it matches the revs. Any ideas? Belt problem maybe?

Also have a problem with power windows. Drivers window works fine. The other windows only work from the drivers control panel. Is this a problem with the window lock mechanism?

Incidentally, as you can probably guess, I am by no means an experienced mechanic!

[b1gfella]

For the loud whine (squeel?), open the hood and see if you can place the noise. An old or misadjusted belt will make noise, as will a water pump or accesory pulley going bad. The belt is the best news but you need to see if it's the water pump or a pulley and get it corrected before it leaves you stranded somewhere or worse yet you overheat the engine and possibly lose your motor!

no idea about the power windows, i purposely bought my 94 without power windows. :-) you could have bad switches or the wiring from the doors is bad. Electrical stuff can be a bigger PITA than working on the engine!

[Pauldownunder]

Thanks for that. The noise appears to be coming from the very front and centre of the engine around the belt, fingers crossed thats all it is. I havent had any problems with overheating as yet. It runs at a fairly constant temperature, around 100 on the gauge.

The windows are more of an inconvenience than a problem. May leave that for another time.

[b1gfella]

if the noise is coming from the front center of the engine it may be your water pump which is right there. With the car off and cold grab the water pump pulley and see if it moves side to side (not around ;-) ). if it moves it needs to be replaced. Water pumps are known for giving you hints before they buy the farm, noises, very very small leaks out the seep hole, etc. It's easier to tell this with the belt off but that can be a huge pita! :-)

If you want to get a belt and change it first, check the pump pulley for play while you have the belt off. if it's loose get it replaced. you'll be happy you did when your still driving down the road!

[Pauldownunder]

Had a quick look and the water pump pulley doesnt seem to have any play in it. Saying that, its a bit tricky to get to so i'm going to get it checked out by a mechanic. The Jeeps due for a service anyway. I'm going away on vacation for 2 weeks so will let you know what happens when I get back. Thanks again for the tips.

[canebrake]

Check and clean your air intake system, from the cleaner box back thru the throttle body, and make sure nothing's loose. My '94 started to whine/whistle intermittently when I converted to a homebrew KN-style filter system; it's a fair trade for a significant increase in HP. Adding a throttle body spacer has been known to produce the whistle too.

[chutchin]

Hey,
I would suggest you spend $1 and try QuikMechanic at:
http://www.ineed1.com/quikmechanic.html

I used them before, and they helped alot. It's alot cheaper than going to the shop and they don't fix it, but charge me $68 or more per hour. It's just $1 anyway, so you can't go wrong.

Chutch

[Pauldownunder]

OK. Everything is fixed. Took the Jeep in to have it checked out and it overheated on the way!!
Managed to limp to the repair shop where they took off the water pump. The inside of it was badly corroded so put on a new one, replaced the thermostat at the same time. Overheating fixed.
The whining noise was coming from the front alternator mount. Took the alternator apart and the bearings were shot which was causing the vibration and the whining noise. Wasnt salvagable so new alternator as well. Not cheap but running fine now.
Thanks for the advice.